


Rival Gangs

by TheTopazEyes



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: All Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baby, Bruises, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Christmas Presents, Crying, Death Threats, Drinking, F/M, Falling In Love, Gangs, Guns, Heart-to-Heart, I can't remember all tags, Jacob Black is an abuser, Jasper has a baby, Kidnapped, Love, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, Loving Marriage, Maria is an abuser, Murder, Oral Sex, Past Domestic Violence, Past Rape/Non-con, Pregnancy, Probably missing a lot, Scars, Threats of Violence, True Love, Twins, forced blowjob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 64,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24665812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTopazEyes/pseuds/TheTopazEyes
Summary: Jasper, the leader of a gang "The Whitlocks" and Bella the daughter of the leader of "The Swan-Cullens". Can they help each other work past their traumatic pasts? Will they beat the odds and fall in love? All Human.
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Edward Cullen, Bella Swan/Jacob Black (Past), Charlotte/Peter (Twilight), Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Garrett/Kate (Twilight), Jasper Hale/Bella Swan, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Certain Death

* * *

"Time goes on even when we do not." **― Tahereh Mafi, Unravel Me**

* * *

I'd never given much thought to how I would die, but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. I sat in the empty room, trembling. I looked down at the baby in my arms, staring up at me. The sound of someone kicking down the doors sent trembles through my body. Finally, my door burst open and I knew I was going to die.

This probably doesn't make sense to those reading so I will tell you how I got into this position. Firstly, let me introduce myself, I'm Isabella Swan (though I prefer to go by Bella) and I am 22. My parents are Charlie and Renee Swan. I have 2 older brothers, twins, Emmett and Edward who are 5 years older than me. My best friends are Alice and Rosalie Cullen. They are dating Edward and Emmett respectively. Their parents, Carlisle and Esme adopted them when they were very young. They are like a second set of parents to me. We all live in Seattle.

Now, for the reason I am in this position. My father and Carlisle run a major illegal gang. Our rival gang are 'The Whitlocks'. The Whitlocks consist of; Jasper Whitlock, Maria Whitlock, Peter Whitlock, Charlotte Whitlock, Garrett Grey, Alistair Hunter, Irina Moreau, Laurent Moreau, Nettie García and Lucy García.

Our gang 'The Swan-Cullens' consists of; Charlie Swan, Carlisle Cullen, Emmett Swan, Edward Swan, Bella Swan (me), Alice Cullen, Rosalie Cullen, Kate Denali, Tanya Denali and Riley Biers. My mother and Esme have never participated in the gang. They prefer to just act as housewives. That is not to say that they can't defend themselves as well as the rest of us.

We have always been rival groups but it has recently gotten worse. Irina is Kate's and Tanya's sister. They have always been part of our gang, however, around two years ago Irina met Laurent and they fell in love. Irina couldn't marry Laurent because she was in a different gang to him so she left us and joined the Whitlocks. This made us all furious but especially Tanya and Kate. They had lost their mother and younger brother so the only family they had was each other.

The Whitlocks have been stealing small deliveries from us since this happened and we have retaliated accordingly but the last straw came last week. They blew up one of our storage warehouses that was storing $1.5 million worth of cocaine and guns. Thankfully, there were only minor injuries on our side.

We knew that we couldn't allow them to get away with this so we called a meeting. On Tuesday, two days after the attack we were all sitting in the meeting room discussing what our next move was going to be. Charlie sat at the head of the table with Carlisle on his right and Emmett on his left. Edward was beside him and I was beside him. Alice was beside Carlisle and Rosalie was beside her. Kate and Tanya sat beside her and Riley was pacing around the room.

"We have to do something that will destroy them!" Emmett punched the table "We have to let them know that this can't continue!"

"I REFUSE TO LET BELLA BE PUT IN DANGER!" Carlisle and Emmett where head to head. Charlie stood up.

"Carlisle, it's the only idea we have come up with, you know that Bella can defend herself. She will be ok and Edward and Emmett will be outside."

Carlisle was breathing hard. He glared at Emmett and Charlie in turn. "OK, but you need to know that I think it's a bad move." He walked out of the room and slammed the door.

"Bella, are you OK with this?"

What is this plan you ask? Well, this is it. In a week I would sneak into the Whitlock mansion via the secret garage under the house. After that, I would sneak into the main office Jasper, the head of the Whitlocks would be there and I would knock him out. Once I had done that I would use my radio to contact Edward and Emmett and they would come around to the back of the house and we would take Jasper out through the window. Now the question you are probably asking is why me? Well, the answer is that I know the layout of the house. When we were on speaking terms with the Whitlocks Carlisle and dad went to the Whitlock mansion to speak about making a trade deal. I was only around 13 at the time and I was in the car when Carlisle and dad had to make the trade deal. I got bored and decided to leave the car, the door of the Whitlock mansion was unlocked so I walked in. I can remember the layout of the house quite well. Edward and Emmett couldn't do it because although they were there with dad and Carlisle and also know the layout they aren't stealthy like I am.

The risks were major, I could get caught at almost every stage and there was no guarantee that Jasper would even be in his office. Even with all these risks, I knew that there was no other option, I had to do it.

This was a decision I would come to absolutely regret.

The day of the mission came quickly. We had Heidi design an outfit for me. It was all black and it had a knife sheath on each leg. I had knuckle dusters on too in case I got into any trouble on the way to Jasper. The top was tight and form-fitting but didn't restrict my movement. It was long-sleeved and I was wearing a gun holster. My thick mahogany hair was tied up in a bun so it didn't get in the way.

I was very nervous but didn't let it show.

I drove up the drive to Whitlock mansion. I ditched the car about halfway up the drive and started walking. I could see the garage and I knew it was closed. I knew that in five minutes a car that carried Peter and Charlotte Whitlock would drive-in. I waited and at exactly 10 am I saw the car. I hid in the bushes beside the garage and saw a man lean out of the drivers' side window and put in a code to the keypad. The door creaked open and I waited until the car drove in. I followed in after it. The door closed behind me and I hid in the shadows. Peter and Charlotte Whitlock got out the car with the driver and made their way to the elevator that was there. I knew the place was big but I didn't think it would need an elevator.

I waited for exactly 5 minutes until I moved from the shadows. By this time my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I could see around 15 cars parked. I could also see that beside the elevator there was a set of stairs. I decided to take them as to not arouse any suspicion.

When I got to the top of them I could see there wasn't anyone there. This seemed to be the corridor directly in front of the main door. This would be a great way to sneak out, I would have to remember that. I slowly crept out and I made a beeline for the office. There were many turns before you got to the office and I struggled to remember but I did manage to. I was a bit suspicious as I hadn't seen or heard anyone since I was in the garage. Still, I carried on. I eventually found the office door and I saw that it was already opened a crack. I stopped but couldn't hear anything so I slowly crept inside.

I scanned the room and I was couldn't see anyone so I properly analysed the room. Bookshelves stretched up to the ceiling of two of the walls. The other wall had a massive desk in front of it as well as a giant window behind it. Just when I was about to walk over to the desk I heard shouting. I ran behind the door so if anyone came in I wouldn't be noticed right away.

"For fuck's sake Maria! I told you not to do that!" A man said.

"Well Jasper she wouldn't go to fucking sleep, what else was I supposed to do?!" A woman supposedly Maria, replied.

"What do you mean, 'what else was I supposed to do'? She is a BABY you can't just hit her over the head and knock her out to make her go to sleep, it doesn't work that way!"

I was shocked. I couldn't believe that Maria would abuse a baby. I knew she was evil but even the wife of a gang leader should have some sort of moral code.

"Whatever I don't care anymore! I'm leaving"

"You can't just leave!"

"Watch me!"

"MARIA YOU BITCH!" I heard the sound of a door hitting the walls and then the slamming of the main house door.

A few moments later the door of the office opened. I held my breath. I saw him then. Jasper Whitlock.

I had seen Jasper before but never shirtless and with a baby in his arms. He was talking to the baby.

"Shh, it's ok darlin'" The baby started crying even louder.

"Now come on, it's alright, Maria's gone and I won't ever let her hurt you again."

The baby started cooing and giggling.

"That's a good baby." He started rocking her and softly singing.

I knew that he was my enemy and that I shouldn't care about him but I couldn't help it. I could tell this man really did care about his daughter. I almost felt bad for what I was about to do but then I remembered what he did.

I stood up straight and closed the door. He turned around and saw me. His mouth dropped open. This was the first time I had seen his face and his baby. The baby was swaddled in a purple blanket and was sound asleep. This wasn't what held my attention though. My eyes were stuck on his face. His strong jaw and perfect teeth. His strong steel grey eyes that seemed to hold so much pain and strength. His honey blonde hair and his perfect eyebrows. This was before my eyes appraisingly raked down his naked top half. His six-pack was on show but that wasn't what my eyes were drawn to. My eyes were drawn to the scars that crisscrossed all over his arms, neck and torso.

He managed to snap out of it before I did.

"I don't recall making an appointment with you."

I quickly snapped out of it when he said that.

"That'll be because I didn't make an appointment."

"Then why are you even here?" He didn't sound confrontational, more tired.

I didn't say anything just slowly walked over to him. When I got close enough I asked,

"How old is she?"

"2 and a half months"

"Name?"

"Tabitha May Whitlock"

"That's a nice name."

"Yeah, I know. Can you just tell me why you are here?"

"How old are you?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Just 'cause. You seem a little young to have a baby."

"That's cause I am. I'm 25."

"You should probably put her down so we can properly talk."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He walked over to a cot in the corner of the room and put her in it.

"So now why are you here?"

He went to a corner and poured himself what looked like whiskey.

"To kill you." He didn't even flinch.

"I thought as much. Sorry to tell you that you can't do that." He glanced to the cot "I have to live for her. You know if you got here this time last year I wouldn't be talking to you, you would just be dead."

"Yeah well, I'm here now." I sat down on the edge of the desk. I honestly didn't know what I was doing, I should just be getting on with the plan but this man seemed to put me in a total headspin.

"Maria will be back soon you know." I told him "I'd kill her by the way, for what she did to your baby."

Just then Tabitha started to stir. I looked at her then him and he surprised me,

"You know what I trust you with her more than I trust Maria with her and I barely know you. That's fucked up."

I walked over to the cot and picked up Tabitha. She snuggled into me and fell asleep again. I put her down again.

"So tell me why did you destroy our warehouse?" I questioned him.

"We knew it would be a big loss on your side."

"Well, that's really the reason I'm here." I walked up and raised a knife to his neck.

"Don't fuck with us. We will destroy you."

He smirked and that is when I felt the knife against my neck.

"Don't just think you can walk in and threaten me like this." I dropped the knife, I knew when to back down and this was one of those moments.

"Good girl" He took the knife away from my neck. "Now let's stop with all these silly threats."

Just then we both heard the main door open. He looked at me and told me to hide. I didn't question it and just went behind the desk.

"Jasper, there you are." I could tell from the slight Mexican accent it was Maria.

"Where is my baby?"

"I am not giving her to you."

"Why the fuck not?!"

"Because you are a sadistic bitch and I am filing for a divorce. If you don't sign the papers I will force you too and you don't want to see how far I'll go to get them signed."

I knew that I had to leave and soon. I was about to move when I heard the sound of someone being slapped hard.

"How fucking dare you!"

"You have 1 hour to leave." Came Jasper's reply.

She stormed out and Jasper told me to come out. I could see a red mark across his right cheek.

"I have to go but don't think this is over."

"Oh I am many things but I am not dumb. I look forward to seeing you again. Goodbye Swan."

I just nodded. As I got to the door it burst open and I came face to face with Maria with a shotgun and 12 Mexican men behind her.

"Who is this little puta?" (bitch) She looked passed me to Jasper.

I have heard of Maria but never have I actually seen her. She was shorter than me, around 5'1". She had a look of utter hatred in her face. I knew I would have to fight back. I grabbed my Glock 18 from my holster. I took two steps backwards.

"Ooh, feisty this one." Maria sneered at me. "Has everyone forgotten how to speak?!"

"Maria leave." Jasper walked passed me and got face to face with her.

"Mátalos" I knew some Spanish so I knew she said 'Kill them'.

Jasper produced a gun from seemingly nowhere and shot one of the guys in the head, killing him instantly. Maria took her opportunity and ran out of the door.

I knew I had to help Jasper so I shot another guy in the shoulder. He fell to the ground. Jasper and I ran behind his desk. He grabbed his phone.

"For fuck's sake Peter!" He slammed his phone on the ground. "Damn you for never picking up!"

I looked out the side of the desk and shot another guy in the chest. Jasper did the same. 4 down 8 to go. This was when I remembered Tabitha, she was still asleep in the cot.

"¡Agarra a la bebé!" (Grab the baby!) I didn't know what that meant but when I looked over at Jasper I could tell it was something bad.

I shot two other guys that were slowly getting closer. 6 to go. One of the men managed to get to the cot and Jasper shot him, spraying blood over the baby pink canopy. Tabitha started screaming and I knew that I had to grab her.

I knew that I had to make sure Jasper was covering me. "Cover me." He just nodded.

I launched myself over to the cot and grabbed Tabitha. She quieted slightly when I did this. I looked around and saw only 3 men. I shot one in the leg, immobilising him. He fell to the ground screaming. Jasper stood up and shot the remaining two.

"We have to get out of here!" Jasper shouted, "Follow me!"

I was following him but just as he ran out the office door he was hit on the head and knocked out. I killed the man. It was the one I shot in the shoulder, this time I made sure he was actually dead. I knew I couldn't just walk out the front door because Maria could be waiting out with more backup.

I scanned the corridor and decided to hide in one of the rooms. I took Jasper with me, I didn't want the baby to lose both parents in one day. I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the room closest to the office.

The room was empty and I sat in the corner with Jasper beside me and Tabitha in my arms. I used my radio to call Emmett and Edward but there was no answer. I started to cry, never in my life had I ever felt so helpless. I was going to die, not surrounded by family but surrounded by Whitlocks.

Shortly after that, I heard the doors being kicked in and came face to face with what I was certain would be my death.


	2. Making My Mind Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, this chapter contains some mentions of domestic abuse and violence.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." **― William Shakespeare**

* * *

Maria was standing at the door with a shotgun aimed right at me.

"You again, who the fuck are you?!" I put Tabitha on the floor and stood up.

"I'm Isabella Swan." I was pointing my gun directly at her. "If you don't leave I _will_ shoot you."

"I _dare_ you." She looked at me with a smirk on her face. Before she could say anything else, I shot her in the shoulder.

She dropped the shotgun and screamed. The blood was seeping out of the shoulder. I grabbed the shotgun that she dropped and said: "Do you still dare me?"

She started to back up and she said with a trembling voice, "No, of course not."

I was about to say 'well too bad' and shoot her, that would end the problem! However, I heard someone shouting,

"Don't shoot, don't fucking shoot!" I decided not to shoot and instead hit Maria over the head. She immediately lost consciousness.

I saw him then, Peter Whitlock. Peter was Jasper's older brother of about 3 years. He was slightly taller than him with sandy blonde hair.

"Where the fuck is Jasper!" He asked me angrily, putting a gun to my head and pushing me against the door frame.

"I'm here Peter!" Jasper said groggily, holding his head.

I was forgotten and Peter ran to Jasper helping him up. Jasper picked up Tabitha.

"How did I get in here?" Peter shrugged and looked at me waiting for an answer.

"Well, when you ran out the door one of Maria's goons knocked you out. I killed him after that and I knew she would be back so I took you and Tabitha in here." I continued, "Then she came back as I expected and she dared me to shoot her so I did, teach the bitch a fucking lesson."

"Yeah well, she won't be here much longer." Jasper sighed and rolled his neck.

I knew that I had to make sure Edward and Emmett were ok. I had a terrible feeling that something had happened to them.

"You know we can't just let you leave," Peter told me. I knew this much but I had to at least try.

I turned around to run out but I was blocked by Garrett Grey and Alistair Hunter. They both had guns and I knew that I had lost. I sighed and put my hands in the air letting them lead me away.

**JPOV**

Peter looked at me with a raised eyebrow after Isabella left.

"What?!" I asked annoyed.

"What? Really, Jasper, you actually want me to tell you what is weird? First off you are shirtless, secondly, your wife is sprawled across the floor after being knocked out by one Bella Swan." He was pacing around the room at this point "Why the fuck is she even here? Why is Tabitha on the floor and how could you trust her with a Swan?"

I let out a humourless laugh. "Well, when you put it like that it does sound really fucked up." I grabbed Tabitha, "I need to feed her."

I walked into my bedroom and put on a shirt. Peter was on the phone, I listened and he was talking to Santiago, telling him to get Jenks to write up the divorce papers.

Walking into the kitchen, I placed Tabitha in the high chair while I prepared some milk for her.

"So what caused it this time?" Peter asked.

"She fucking did it again! She hit her to put her to sleep 'because she was 'getting a headache because of the screaming'. She is a child!" I continued "I swear if she ever comes back here after today I will kill her."

I gave Tabitha her bottle. She must have been hungry, she quickly finished it all. I immediately felt guilty, I checked the time and was shocked when the clock read 11:30 am. That meant it was over 4 hours since Tabitha had last been fed.

"What are you doing with Isabella?" I don't know why I asked or cared but I did.

"In the holding cells until we question her. Her brothers are also there, caught them at the back seemingly waiting for her." He laughed, "The big one, Emmett put up one hell of a fight."

"I will go down and question them after lunch. Don't want to wait too long, the rest of them are probably making their way over here."

"Good idea, want me to come with you?" Usually, Peter would always come with me but I wanted to question Isabella by myself.

"Yeah, but only Emmett and Edward I want to question Isabella by myself." Peter just raised an eyebrow but agreed without saying anything.

I gave Tabitha to Charlotte for the afternoon. I had Maria removed from the house by Randall and Santiago.

I walked to the basement to the holding cells. I had changed into a suit. I knew I had to get into the right mindset to do this and that was the first step. I nodded to Toshiro on the door. Peter walked in first.

The holding cells were quite spacious, there were 4 different cells, we had put Edward and Emmett in one and Isabella in another by herself. Toshiro grabbed Edward out of the first one and escorted him into the questioning room.

Toshiro tied him down so he couldn't move.

"Thank you, Toshiro." He nodded and walked out.

Edward had a black eye and a split lip.

"What the fuck do you want?" He spat out.

I laughed. "This is not how it works, I am the one that asks the questions here. If you answer the questions honestly you will leave here _relatively_ unscathed."

"First question, why are you here?"

"Fuck you." I sighed, I hated getting blood on my suit.

I walked over and slapped him across the face.

"Why are you here?" I knew he was going to say something sarcastic so I slapped him again.

"I am here because of our plan. Bella was going to knock you out and we could take you out the window, keep you as our prisoner."

I shared a look with Peter and we laughed. "Well that plan didn't work now did it?"

He gritted his teeth. "No, if our plan had worked you would be dead."

That just made me angry. I leaned over the table to whisper in his ear. "I know everything about you, Edward Anthony Swan. I know that you have a long term girlfriend Mary Alice Cullen. She was adopted by Carlisle and Esme Cullen when she was just 8 after being left in a mental asylum."

He was shouting now and I nodded to Peter. Peter slapped him and told him to shut up, when he didn't he punched him in the stomach. This made him quiet, well that and the fact he spat out some blood.

"So you see Edward, I do my background checks on my enemies, maybe you should start too."

"Peter." Peter undid the restraints and hauled Edward up. He came back in moments with Toshiro and Emmett.

It took considerably more effort to restrain Emmett as he was putting up more of a fight.

"What do you sick fucks want? I saw what you did to Edward!" Emmett was shouting.

I punched him in the stomach.

"You think that's bad? Keep it up and you will see what we can really do." That shut him up.

"Tell me, how much do you think daddy Swan will pay to get you three back?"

"That is a stupid fucking question." He responded but just as I was going to punch him again he continued, "He would pay anything to get us back but you already knew that didn't you?"

I could give him credit, he was smarter than he looked. He was trying to get me to tell him my plans.

"I don't really have any questions for you honestly. More a warning. I know everything about you. I know where all your warehouses are, who your traders are and all the details of your personal life. Ask Edward what I know about Alice, I know all that about her and those are all confidential files. I know everything about your Rosalie, all the police reports. Where Royce is now, _everything_."

"Go." He was again escorted out by Peter and Toshiro.

Isabella came in next. Peter was going to restrain her but I shook my head.

"You sure?" He asked sceptically. I nodded. He left after looking at Isabella cautiously one more time.

I just stared at her. I didn't really notice it when I first saw her but now I did, she was absolutely gorgeous. She exuded confidence and I knew I could get lost in those deep chocolate eyes. She was looking at me like she did the first time she saw me; like she was trying to figure me out. Her scrutiny made me uncomfortable so I nervously coughed. Something I rarely did.

She crossed her arms over her chest in a defiant manner.

"Where did you get those scars from?" This shocked me, I really hadn't expected that. It took me a moment to reply.

"None of your business." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Maria." Was all she replied with, when I didn't respond she said, "I thought so."

I hated how observant she was and how much she knew about me. I hated how vulnerable I felt around her.

"You don't know what you are talking about!" I shouted, punching the desk.

"Yes, I do!" She stood up angrily, "I know what it's like to be in an abusive relationship. Thinking you deserve what you get. I know that you can never fully heal. The scars are an ugly reminder until you learn to embrace them as a part of yourself and move past them as best as you can."

She was crying by the end. I was shocked. I don't know why but I went over and held her while she cried. She grabbed on my suit and cried into my shoulder all I could do was rub her back and tell her she was ok.

"It's ok darlin'" Darlin'? Where was that coming from? I only ever called Tabitha darlin'.

After about ten minutes her crying quieted and she let go of me and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry Jasper. I didn't mean to break down like that."

"It's ok. I understand." I didn't feel like I needed to continue with the questioning.

I called for Toshiro and I asked him to bring in 4 bottles of water and ready salted chips. He came back in moments later and I thanked him. I gave her the water and chips, I told her she could eat and drink as much as she wanted. She had one bottle of water and chips, saying she would save the rest for Edward and Emmett.

"Do you want anything else? Food-wise." I asked her.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You beat up my brothers and threatened them and you haven't done that to me." She asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"Well, you better fucking figure it out. You can't go from putting a knife to my throat to helping me. You are either on my side or you are against me. Make your mind up! Now let me out of here."

I've noticed a pattern with Isabella, she always shocks me. I think I have her figured out and then she does a complete 180. I didn't know how to respond so I just called Toshiro to let her out.

I had to get out of this suit and this room. I walked back up to the house. I was going to go into my bedroom but I couldn't stomach it, I had shared that room with Maria. I knew there was only one thing that would make me feel better right now, Tabitha.

Charlotte and Peter had a house that was separate to the mansion. I went outside and jumped into my blue Chevy pick up truck. I drove to Charlotte and Peters' private mansion. I knocked on the door and Charlotte came to the door.

"Hi Jasper, I knew you'd be here so I baked you some peach cobbler." Char was the epitome of a southern gal. She was perfect for Peter in every way.

"Where's Tabitha?" I asked.

"She is sleeping; Jasper why don't you sit down and we can talk about what is botherin' you over some of that cobbler." My shoulders slumped and I agreed.

I sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island. Char grabbed a bowl and put the warm from the oven peach cobbler in with some cream. She passed it to be and then sat down across from me.

"I've had one hell of a fucking day and it's not even 5 pm yet!" That's how I started telling Char about the events of the day. I left out absolutely no details, I told her my thoughts about Isabella and her family.

She waited a minute before replying and I took my opportunity and ate the cobbler. It was delicious, almost as good as what ma used to make.

"Well, Jasper I think I know what the problem is if you could even call it that." She paused. "You like her, this Isabella Swan girl."

I nearly choked on the cobbler I was eating. In between coughs, I managed to splutter out, "What, the fuck!"

"I can't be certain because I haven't seen you two interact but I think she is perfect for you. She challenges you and I think she was completely right! You were acting like a complete asshole! Being nice to her one minute and then threatening her the next."

The weight of the day and this revelation finally crashed on top of me. I suddenly became really tired.

"I'm going to have a nap with Tabitha."

"That's a good idea, Jasper. The clothes are still in the nursery." I thanked her and walked to the nursery.

Char and Peter had a nursery in their house for two reasons. The first was that they were planning on starting a family soon. The second was Tabitha. When Maria would get too much I would come around to Char and Peters' to stay the night. I would take Tabitha with me and was often a mess.

Peter suggested that I take some clothes and keep them in here so I would always have something to change into. I also have plenty of food and toys for Tabitha here.

I changed out of my suit and put on an old pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. When I looked at my arms I couldn't help but remember what Bella had told me earlier 'The scars are an ugly reminder until you learn to embrace them as a part of yourself and move past them'.

I grabbed Tabitha out of the cot and lay her on my chest. She snuggled in and fell asleep again. I quickly followed, thinking about Bella and what she had told me.

**BPOV**

I walked back into the holding cells and Edward and Emmett immediately asked if I was ok. I told them I was and gave them the food and water through the bars.

"What did he ask you?" Emmett was the first to break the silence.

"He just asked me more about the plan." What the fuck? Now I was lying for him? What was this man doing to me?

"What time is it?"

"4 pm" I sighed this day was seemingly never-ending.

"When do you think we will get out of here?" I asked.

"I dunno Bels. It depends on what that sick fuck wants with us." Emmett replied.

"Yeah, I doubt he will just let us walk free without taking something or getting more information from us."

I yawned.

This might be called a 'holding cell' but it had a comfy looking bed and a clean toilet in it. It also had a faucet that ran clean drinking water. I felt exhausted but I knew I couldn't let myself be vulnerable. I decided to lay on the bed and think about the events of today and most importantly the conversation with Jasper.

I could kick myself for letting being as vulnerable as I was with him. I had told no one, not even my family, how much Jacob Black had hurt me. They know the bare minimum that he had hit me but they don't know that I carry scars from him. Carlisle is the only one that knows the full story and all the marks he left.

When I eventually told my family Emmett, Edward And Rose were murderous. Rose because of what happened to her and Emmett and Edward because they are my older brothers and they always protect me. They had never liked him but me being a defiant teenager didn't listen to them and stayed with him.

I didn't feel safe until he was locked up. He knew I was naive. He was my first 'love'. He was 21 and I was only 18. It ended around my 20th birthday when Alice and Rose saw a handprint on my arm. Carlisle cleaned me up and I talked to him and worked through it with him.

Jacob won't be in prison forever though. He gets out in less than a year. I have nightmares about that, about him getting out and finding me. I know he would kill me, there is no doubt in my mind. I dragged my hand down my face. Shakespeare was right.

I know Jasper also has some baggage. I can't believe how many scars he has. They crossed over his arms and chest. I can't even think about how he got them. It's obvious he loves Tabitha. I can't believe he has a child with that psycho bitch. Tabitha was obviously Jaspers. She had his unusual steel grey eyes. She had Maria's hair, dark brown almost black. She was absolutely beautiful.

I was starting to get hungry. I checked the clock on the wall. 5:30 pm! I looked over at Edward and Emmett. They had their heads together, talking. I knew they were probably thinking about a way to get out.

Time crawled on. I tried to sleep but I just couldn't. At 6 pm Jasper came in. With food.

"I have some food for you. It is a lasagna."

"Why the fuck are you being nice to us all of a sudden?" Emmett asked the question that was on all of our minds.

He just looked me in the eyes and said, "I made my mind up."

Then he walked out.


	3. An Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same." ― **George R.R. Martin**

* * *

**JPOV**

I had made my mind up.

I had decided that I would be on her side. Easier said than done.

When I woke up it was about 5:30 pm. The nap had done me well. I now knew what I had to do. I asked Char if she had any frozen meals she could defrost for the Swans. She said that she had lasagna and there would be enough for six people. I said that was good and she defrosted it. I then got changed out of the sweatpants and old t-shirt to something casual.

I wore a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. I then fed and burped Tabitha and then changed her diaper. I walked back into the kitchen and saw that Char put the lasagna into containers.

"Just put it on a plate and then throw it in the microwave." Char told me then kissed me on the cheek, "Go, feed them, they must be starving!" I walked out the door with a bag of lasagna and Tabitha in my arms.

I buckled her in her car seat and drove back. When I walked in, Garrett and Alistair were sitting on the sofa in the sitting room. They each had a plate of spaghetti bolognese. Garrett turned around when he heard the door,

"Hey Jas, you want me to take Baby T?" That was Garrett's nickname for Tabitha. He had nicknames for everyone. I gave her to him and he started playing peek-a-boo with her. She was clapping her hands and giggling.

I walked into the kitchen and started plating up the lasagna and putting it in the microwave. Alistair walked in with his and Garretts' dirty plates.

Alistair was weird. He was very quiet but he was always very opinionated. If we were having a meeting and he didn't like something, you would know. Before he came to us he was a hired assassin. Hence the last name "hunter". Nobody knows what his real last name is. When he became an assassin he just started going by "Alistair Hunter". He never really talked, and when he did it was all in riddles. He would only speak normally to Garrett, they were great friends. He washed his and Garretts dishes then put them away. Just as he was walking out I stopped him and said,

"Al can you tell Santiago and Randall to burn all of Maria's clothes."

"Yes of course." He walked out and I heard him on the phone. Good, you could always trust Alistair to get a job done quickly.

I took the lasagna down to the Swans. Just as I put the food down Emmett asked me why I was doing being nice. I answered with the first thing that came to my head, I looked as Isabella as I honestly said,

"I made my mind up."

I walked out then because I didn't want to answer any questions from Emmett or Edward, I knew Isabella understood.

I went back in about 20 minutes to collect the dishes. When I went in, Isabella asked me for some water so I put the dishes away and brought back some water bottles.

"Thank you, Jasper, for making the right decision." I flashed her a smile that she returned and my heart skipped a beat.

I walked to the living room and saw a sleeping Alistair holding Tabitha as she slept. Garrett was also sleeping on the couch. I sat down on the third couch and got my phone out. I was reading through my texts, mainly just business stuff.

Maria had spammed my phone.

**Maria: I will kill you!**

**Maria: Answer me!**

**Maria: You too busy with that little** _**puta** _

**Maria: You can keep that whiny daughter of yours**

**Maria: You'll regret this**

**Maria: I will not let you get away with this**

**Maria: Nettie and Lucy are with me**

**Maria: They left**

**Maria: Nobody will ever love you**

**Maria: Your scars will always be ugly**

**Maria: You'll come crawling back to me**

I put my head in my hands. I moved on and read my texts from Peter.

**Peter: Nettie and Lucy have left.**

**Peter: I've scheduled a meeting for 11 pm tomorrow.**

**Peter: See you tomorrow.**

I sighed. Tomorrow is not going to be easy.

* * *

_**The Next Day…** _

**Maria POV**

That fucker! He can't just kick me out and expect me to do nothing! I have already called Nettie and Lucy and made them leave. I already have a plan. I called James and Victoria Bennett and told them my plan. They helped me sort out the logistics and helped put it into motion. Jasper Whitlock won't know what hit him.

* * *

**Peter POV**

I was glad Jasper had finally decided to get rid of Maria. I never liked her. I knew the only reason that she was with him was the money. I could kill her for what she did to Tabitha. When I saw Bella Swan with a gun pointed to Maria I was tempted to let her die. I was going to but knew that would cause a full-on war.

I knew as soon as I started asking Jasper about Bella that he liked her. It was obvious; he would've killed anyone else that even looked at Tabitha but he let Bella _hold_ her. When I went to check on Jasper this morning he was sleeping on the couch with Tabitha. Garrett told me that he hadn't seemed like himself. That's why right now I am making him breakfast and the Swans breakfast. I wouldn't give the Swans their breakfast, Jasper would.

It was around 9:30 am when Jasper finally woke up. I gave him his and Tabitha's breakfast and told him that he should give the Swans theirs. He ate his and fed Tabitha then he went and gave them their food and came up minutes later.

"I'm going for a shower," Jasper said.

He came out 1 hour later in a grey suit towel drying his hair. "I'm gonna collect the Swans dishes." He said while still drying his hair.

He came back up 10 minutes later with 3 empty plates.

We walked to the meeting room and sat down. About 10 minutes later everyone showed up. Jasper sat at the head of the table. Everyone important was here; Char, Garrett, Alistair, Irina, Laurent, Toshiro, Santiago, Randall, Afton and Chelsea.

Jasper started by saying, "Y'all know what happened yesterday." There were murmurs of confirmation.

"We all know that Maria will be plotting something. However, she will sign the divorce papers, she knows what I will do if she doesn't." He continued, "However, our more pressing issue is what we are going to do with the Swans. We can't just let them go but I don't want _too_ much harm coming to any of them." He took turns looking at everyone.

"So does anyone have any ideas on how to tackle this problem?"

There was silence for a few minutes while everyone was thinking. Then Alistair spoke up,

"What if we bring them back to the Swan domain to strike a deal?"

Charlotte said, "That sounds like a great idea. However, Jasper, you said that you didn't want harm coming to them, if that is the case why don't we try and stop this feud or at least try to see eye to eye?"

It was Irina that spoke up, "Honestly, I would love that. I haven't had a proper conversation with my sisters for 2 years. I would like to try and put this behind us. We could become allies and take out the 'Black Pack' together."

"I like that idea. Let's put it to a vote." Jasper spoke up, "Hands up for yes, we ally with the Swans."

The first-hand up was Irina's followed by Laurent. Char and mine followed next, followed closely by Alistair's and Garrett's. Eventually, everyone's hand was up.

"It's decided then. We go to the Swans and try to ally." He relaxed a bit.

"Now onto the next matter. Alistair, do you know Maria, Nettie and Lucy's whereabouts?"

"I saw them boarding a plane to Mexico but from there they just seemed to disappear." He continued, "I tried to track them further but after they got off the plane I couldn't track them further. I do however know she discarded her phone shortly after she departed. Having said that, I do know she made a phone call to James Bennett. Here is the audio."

He took out his laptop and played the audio of the call,

**Maria: Hello James.**

**James: Maria.**

**Maria: I need a favour from you and Victoria.**

**James: Go on.**

**Maria: Well, Jasper divorced me and threw me out.**

**James: So? What do you want me to do?**

**Maria: I need you to get as much information on Isabella Swan as you can.**

**James: And why would I do that for you?**

**Maria: I have a plan.**

**James: -sighs- Fine. Meet at the usual place. Get rid of this phone, someone could be tracing it.**

**Maria: OK see you soon.**

"I have done a background check on James and his wife Victoria. James was in the US military but was dishonourably discharged for espionage. His wife, Victoria was a police officer but was fired when she tried to help her sister, Anne escape. Anne is in for life after murdering her husband and two children. James and Victoria met around 5 years ago and make a living by selling confidential information to anyone who pays enough. James and Maria met when they were in high school."

"I think the only thing we can do is wait. I have a feeling Maria won't act for a while." I spoke, "She is waiting for our next move."

"Agreed," Jasper said.

"So when are we going to go to the Swans?" Garrett asked.

"After lunch, around 1 pm?" I suggested.

Everyone nodded. "Good. I am going to transport the Swans with Garrett and Alistair. I want Peter and Char in front with Santiago and Toshiro. Everyone else is in a separate car. Now everyone go, get something to eat, we meet at the cars at 12:45 pm sharp. Best clothes. Understood?"

Again, everyone nodded.

* * *

**JPOV**

Everyone was in the kitchen. I went to talk to Garrett.

"Hey, Gar." I greeted him. "Hey Jas, are you ready for the confrontation?"

"This has been a long time coming, Gar."

He chucked, "Yeah it has. 'Ina has missed her sisters like crazy. _Apparently_ , she has a fuck hot, _single_ sister as well." He wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed, nothing quite like Garrett to lighten up my mood.

"See you, Garrett, I'm gonna check on everyone else."

"Bye Jas."

I walked over to Irina and Laurent next. I greeted them and sat down.

"J, what are you going to do with Tabitha?" Laurent asked me.

"Shit! I forgot about that. I can't leave anyone behind with her, each of you are important in making sure this goes right. I guess I will just take her with me and then leave her in the car; Take her out when we are sure it's safe."

"Ok that sounds like a plan, just make sure she isn't kept alone with the Swans." I nodded.

"J, thanks for this. I am so thankful I will finally see Kate and Tanya again. I have missed them." Irina put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a side hug which I returned.

I left and went to Toshiro, Santiago and Randall. They were sitting talking to each other and laughing. They all greeted me and I sat down.

"Hey, Jasp. You know I'm looking forward to putting all this shit behind us." Randall told me, "According to Irina, there are two guys, Demetri and Felix that we would get along with really well. Can't wait to see if she is telling the truth or if she is just fucking with us." Toshiro and Santiago nodded, agreeing.

Finally, I went to speak to Alistair. He was sitting by himself looking out of the window.

"How are you feeling Al?"

"Fine, just want to get this over with."

I knew that Alistair wasn't talkative so I left him to his thoughts.

Everyone had left and I knew that they had all left to get changed in to 'business attire'. I was already changed so I just sat with my thoughts.

Around 5 minutes later everyone came back and I went down to get the Swans with Garrett, Alistair and Toshiro.

"We are taking you back to your home," I stated. It was silent for a few seconds.

"Why would you do that?" Emmett asked suspiciously.

"We want to strike up a deal with your family," I replied honestly. I nodded at the boys and they unlocked the doors and grabbed each of them.

Isabella shrugged off Alistair. "I will come willingly." She said and walked out.

"Classic Bella," Edward muttered underneath her breath. Emmett chuckled.

We walked out into the driveway and I got into the backseat of the limo with the Swans. Char leaned in and passed me, Tabitha, along with a bag. She was swaddled in a baby blue blanket. Alistair and Garrett were in the front seats.

"So… Who is this?" Edward asked, gesturing towards Tabitha.

"This is my daughter Tabitha May," I replied. Right on cue, Tabitha started to cry. This was one of those rare occasions that only a female, usually Char or Irina, could calm her down. I didn't want to appear vulnerable in front of the Swans but I really had to get Tabitha to stop crying.

"Um… Could you hold her?" I awkwardly asked Isabella, "I wouldn't usually ask but she is in a mood where only a female family member can calm her down. I mean, you're not family but… You're the only female here… Obviously." I nervously coughed.

Isabella smiled and Edward and Emmett chuckled. "Yeah, of course, I will." She reached over and I passed a (still crying) Tabitha to her.

"Shh, shh, stop crying now Tabby." She was amazing, almost instantly she quieted, not completely stopped crying, but quieted. "Shh, now you have to quieten down for your daddy."

I didn't like admitting how much my pants tightened when she said 'daddy'. Edward and Emmett shared a look. They smirked at me. Tabitha was silent now, Isabella was still gently rocking her. I didn't even ask for her back, she looked too comfortable right where she was, in my Isabella's arms.

Wait a minute, _my?_ Where did that come from? She isn't mine. She has never been mine, will never be mine.

The car journey wasn't long, only taking 20 minutes. We stopped outside the Swan-Cullen house and most of the Swan-Cullens were already gathered outside.

"Stay here," I said to Edward, Emmett and Isabella. I motioned to Isabella and she passed Tabitha to me. Although I did trust the Swans, I don't trust them enough to leave my baby girl with them.

I stepped out of the car with Tabitha and locked the door so the Swans couldn't leave. I walked in front of the cars and was flanked by Peter and Char. Alistair and Garrett were on either side of them and everyone else was spread out protecting from all sides.

I started by saying, "We are not here to fight. We want to strike a deal with you, form an alliance."

They looked sceptical. "Why would we agree to this?" Carlisle, one of the leaders asked.

It was Irina that spoke up. She walked out beside me, holding Laurent's hand, you could hear gasps from the Swans and the Cullens. I looked over and saw Kate and Tanya with their hands over their mouths.

"I am tired of all this fighting. I hate that I caused this, I just want my sisters back." She started sobbing and turned into Laurent's chest. I could see that Tanya and Kate wanted to go and hug their sister but their loyalty to the Swan-Cullens made them stay where they were.

"Do you have my children?" This time it was Charlie Swan that asked.

"Yes. No harm has, well no _major_ harm has come to them." Peter answered this time with a smirk.

Two women, Alice and Rosalie Cullen stepped forward. It was Rosalie that spoke up, "Where are they?"

I replied, "In the car." I motioned to the limo. Rosalie nodded.

"Who's that?" Esme Cullen asked, motioning at Tabitha.

"This is my daughter, Tabitha May Whitlock." Esme and Renee shared a look. I raised an eyebrow.

Carlisle asked, "Can we have a moment?" I nodded and he turned and started speaking to the rest of the Swan-Cullens. We did the same.

"OK. This is looking good. Garrett, Alistair, Toshiro, I want you to get the Swans out." They nodded and left.

We turned back around the same time the Swan-Cullens did.

"We have come to a decis-" Was the only thing Charlie Swan could get out before Kate and Tanya came running down the stairs and grabbed Irina in a massive hug. Moments after that, Isabella shot passed me and ran into her father's arms.

The Denali girls were crying and clinging onto each other. Rosalie and Alice ran into their boyfriends' arms. Isabella was crying, clinging onto her parents. Rosalie and Alice were sobbing into their boyfriends' chests. Felix, Tanya's boyfriend came and hugged all the Denali girls.

Everyone was in tears and hugging each other. I couldn't help but smile.

"I assume this means you want to form an alliance with us?"

Renee Swan answered, "Please come in, let us discuss things further."


	4. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.
> 
> Italics = memories

* * *

"Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you" ― **Elvis Presley, Can't Help Falling In love**

* * *

**JPOV**

The Swan-Cullen house was gigantic. It had 3 stories. We all gathered in the meeting room. Although under normal circumstances, this room would be huge, it was crowded now. There were 27 altogether (28 if you included Tabitha).

I knew that I had to introduce everyone while everyone was here. Charlie started before I could,

"Before we get into the business side, let me introduce everyone. As you know, I am Charlie Swan, this is Carlisle Cullen, we are the leaders here at Swan-Cullen, hence the name."

"I'm Renee Swan, the wife of Charlie Swan. This is Esme Cullen, the wife of Carlisle Cullen."

"As you know, I'm Bella Swan, the only daughter of Renee and Charlie."

"I'm Emmett and this is my twin brother Edward. Our parents are Renee and Charlie"

"I'm Rosalie Cullen, only friends can call me Rose. I am the adoptive daughter of Carlisle and Esme and Emmett's girlfriend."

"I'm Mary Alice Cullen, though I prefer to go by Alice and I am the adoptive daughter of Carlisle and Esme and Edward's girlfriend."

"I'm Tanya Denali and Felix is my boyfriend."

"I'm Katrina or Kate and I'm single and ready to mingle." She winked and Tanya elbowed her. I knew she was a great match for Garrett.

"I'm Riley Biers." He didn't seem very talkative and I thought he was very much like Alistair.

"I'm Demetri Hondoros and this is my fiance Heidi Fischer."

"I'm Felix Castle."

I continued, "I'm Jasper Whitlock, as you know this is my daughter Tabitha. I'm the leader of the Whitlocks."

"I'm Peter Whitlock, Jasper's older brother and this is Charlotte or Char, my wife."

"I'm Garrett Grey and I'm also single." He winked at Kate and she giggled.

"I'm Alistair Hunter."

"I'm Laurent Moreau, this is my wife Irina."

"I'm Toshiro Takahashi."

"I'm Santiago Lòpez."

"I'm Randall Johnson."

"I'm Afton Ramona and this is my wife Chelsea."

"Well, now that's the introductions out of the way. Let's get onto the business." It was Carlisle that said this. I was going to start but Tabitha started crying,

"Yeah that will be great but I need to feed Tabitha." I was just about to stand up but Isabella interrupted me,

"I'll do it for you." I passed Tabitha and the bag to her, "Can you just feed her then burp and change her, she will go to sleep after."

"Yeah of course Jas." She walked out with Rosalie and Alice. When Alice was walking out she said something to Char and she got up and walked out with her.

"Anyway, back to business."

* * *

**BPOV**

"Let me see her." It was Rose who asked. I showed her and she said, "Aw, she is so cute. She has her dads' stunning eyes."

Alice crowded around next. "Aw, her little chubby cheeks." Ali gently pinched her cheeks.

I smacked their hands away jokingly. "Go away. I need to feed her."

I sat down on one of the dining room chairs. Rose got to heating the milk and Ali was talking to her. I saw Charlotte standing awkwardly at the side. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"You can sit down if you want Charlotte."

She sat down beside me and said, "I'm really sorry about how my brother and Pete treated you." She was looking down.

I waved a hand. "Oh forget it, the past is behind us. Today is a new start for us all." She smiled and said, "Thank you."

"So where are you originally from?" I asked her.

"Oh, I'm from Houston Texas. That's where I met Peter and Jasper. I met Peter when I was 20, he was 22. They were back down visiting relatives and they went to a rodeo. I was there and it was love at first sight."

"That sounds like a love story." She laughed.

Rose passed me the bottle and I started feeding her. We didn't say anything for a while.

"You're a natural," Char said, gesturing at Tabitha, "Do you want any children?"

"Oh, definitely, but that's not going to happen any time soon!" I laughed.

Rose came and sat down and so did Alice.

"So Bella… Jasper's pretty good looking, don't you think?" My face was _flaming._

"Come _on_ Bella, we all saw you giving him goo-goo eyes when you picked up Tabitha."

I knew they weren't going to let this one go, "Well he is ok I guess."

Alice squealed, I cringed away. "I knew it!"

"Ali, shut up." I put the bottle on the table and started to burp Tabitha. She was sick down my back.

"I needed to change anyway." I shrugged it off. I walked into the bathroom and Ali and Rose passed me a new t-shirt. I gave Tabitha to Char and quickly changed. I then changed Tabitha. I swaddled her again and she quickly fell asleep.

We all walked into the living room and I sat with Tabitha in my arms. Char was beside me and Rose and Ali were in front of me on the other couch.

It was Rose that spoke up, "So Charlotte, how old are you?"

"I'm 26."

"Really? So am I." Rose said.

"I'm 25," Ali said.

"I'm 22," I said.

"So Charlotte, tell us about Garrett. He obviously has a thing for Kate and since she is like a sister to us, we need to make sure he passes all the tests." Rose asked.

"Garrett is great. He is really funny but can also be serious when needed to be. He also has his own nicknames for everyone. For example, everyone calls me Charlotte or Char and he calls me Cher because he caught me singing 'If I Could Turn Back Time'. I tried to get him to change it but when he gives you a nickname he doesn't change it. Sometimes though it takes him ages to think of a nickname. He still hasn't got one for Jasper, just calling him Jas. Peter is Whitty. He deserves a nice girl to settle down with."

"Tell us about Alistair," Ali said.

"Well, Alistair Hunter isn't his real name. Before he joined us he was a hired assassin, he went by Alistair Hunter and that just stuck. He is very quiet and Garrett is his best friend. He is gay. He has been with us for around 5 years. I think he is 29 or somewhere around that age. He is a very good hacker."

"What about Laurent?" I asked next.

"He is great to Irina. He would do anything for her. He was really upset that Irina couldn't see her sisters. He talks to Santiago a lot, they are good friends. He wanted Irina to stay with her sisters so she could be happy but she said that he meant too much to her. Laurent blames himself for being the reason this whole feud started."

We were all silent for a while, thinking of what we learned.

"I think we could be good friends, you know Char," Ali said.

"Really? I would like that a lot." Char smiled. Ali stood up and hugged her. I hugged her after, Rose was a little reluctant but eventually did.

We made small talk and laughed for a while. I looked at the time, it was 4 pm.

"Is it just me or has this meeting seemed to take a long time?" All the girls agree with me. "I'm going to get something to eat, you coming?"

Everyone got up. I fixed us all a chicken caesar salad. Tabitha was up and she wanted to play. I looked through the bad and I saw a bunny. I took the bunny out and played peek-a-boo with her. I tickled her under her chin. I also grabbed her and held her up and brought her down and rubbed her nose with mine. I didn't realise but all the girls were looking at me and whispering amongst themselves.

"What?" I asked them. They all jumped apart and said at the same time, "Nothing."

I stopped and fed and changed Tabitha.

I sat down beside them at the dining table again. Rose asked Charlotte, "So, how is Jasper?"

"Jasper is scarred, emotionally and physically from Maria. The only good thing he got out of that relationship was Tabitha May. he was going to divorce her but she told him she was pregnant and he stopped. He loves that girl with all his heart. You know, it took a week before he let anyone hold her. Peter and I were allowed first and then Garrett and Alistair and eventually everyone. He never let Lucy and Nettie hold her though. He never liked them but because they are Maria's sisters, he had to let them in. None of us ever liked Maria. She thought that she was better than all of us. She tried to 'bully' Alistair. She would give him all the worst jobs, slap him, verbally abuse him, stuff like that. Alistair is usually pretty mild-mannered but one day he snapped. He grabbed Maria by the throat and threatened her. Garrett came in and told him to stop, only for Jasper. He didn't like her either and if she died she wouldn't care. She even tried to flirt with Peter, Afton and Laurent. Of course, all of the ladies were pissed and we confronted her, that was the reason Jasper was going to divorce her. Basically, Jasper is a very nice man but he has put up a wall because of Maria and to get close to him you have to try and get past that. You're the only person outside of the family he has allowed to hold Tabitha. He likes you, Bella."

"What? He doesn't like me, why would he like me?"

Ali raised one eyebrow and said, "Whatever you think Bels."

We talked about things like where we grew up, our interests, stuff like that.

It was around 8:30 pm when Peter walked in. He walked up and gave Char a kiss on the cheek. Soon after, Edward and Emmett came in and did the same to Alice and Rose.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"We have joined up. We are no longer The Whitlocks and The Swan-Cullens we are now The CSW." Peter responded.

Jasper walked in next. "I'm fucking starving. I'm ordering pizzas."

The pizzas arrived half an hour later. I opened the door. There were 15 pizzas. I made sure to give the guy a big tip of $50.

I walked back in and placed them on the table. I knew since there were so many people there needed to be a line before people swarmed. I whistled and everyone stopped talking and looked at me.

"Everyone get in a line if you want pizza!" Charlie was at the front, I passed him a paper plate and he took 3 slices.

Jasper was at the end of the line with Tabitha. He took 4 slices and finally I took 3. I sat down in the dining room and Jasper sat down beside me.

"We are going to stay here for a few nights while we sort out business stuff. There are enough rooms if everyone shares. I was wondering if I could share with you? I mean if you don't feel comfortable that is fine. Tabitha might wake you up in the night."

"That's fine. I would share with Kate but no doubt she is 'sharing' with Garrett." Jasper gave me a look that showed he knew what I meant.

"What do you think about this?" I asked him.

"I'm happy. I am glad that Irina can talk to her sisters again. I'm also glad that Garrett has Kate. I've never seen Alistair talk so much." He motioned and I looked over, Alistair was talking to Riley and they were both laughing.

"It does seem like everyone is happy. Except maybe Laurent, he is getting a complete grilling from Charlie and Carlisle. It seems like this is one big family." Jasper nodded, agreeing.

"I forgot! In my room, there is only one bed. It's king-size though so we should be OK."

"Yeah also, since there aren't any cots, Tabitha will have to sleep between the pillows." He continued, "Speaking about Tabitha, how was she?"

"Oh, she was great. I fed her and burped her and changed her and everything. She was sick down my back and I changed, no big deal though."

He nodded. "She really is a great girl," I said.

"Yeah, I'm just sad that she will grow up without a mother."

"At least she has her family. She also has me." I looked up shyly. He smiled at me, "I'm glad."

Kate walked up. "Bella I _need_ to talk to you." I stood up and Garrett sat in my seat.

I walked with Kate into the living room, all the females were sitting there.

I sat with the Denali girls. "So Kate, how is Garrett?" I asked her, I knew she was going to tell me whether I asked or not.

"He is _amazing_ Bella, we have so much in common, obviously he is staying in my room. He has a nickname for me too!"

"What is it?" She reminded me of Alice, she was so happy. "He calls me Katie or Kit Kat!"

I laughed, "Kate you need to keep him! He is so sweet!" She laughed, "I know!"

"He gets on with us too! I'm Tani and Irina is just 'Ina. He is really great for Kate. Felix has already given him the talk. You know the whole 'if you hurt my sister I will kill you' thing." Tanya rolled her eyes but smiled.

"What do you think of Char?" I asked Kate and Tanya.

"Oh, she is hilarious. She makes fun of Peter and doesn't take herself too seriously. Chelsea is great too, she told us about this one time Garrett got drunk and fell into a duck pond. The ducks chased him out!" We were all laughing.

"Alistair and Riley have hit it off." Irina leaned closer to me, "They are sharing a room." She winked and we all giggled.

"Heidi is getting all the details from Riley tomorrow." Tanya continued. Riley and Heidi are good friends.

Ali called us over. We all walked over and sat in a circle on the couches. All the girls were here.

Charlotte said, "It's Randall's birthday soon. The 28th July, 3 days away."

"How old will he be?" It was Esme that asked.

"He'll be 30. He won't want anything big but it's just so you guys know. We always sign one big card and I make cupcakes, one for everyone."

"How about we all make cupcakes? Just us girls." Alice suggested.

"That sounds like fun," Heidi said.

We all agreed.

We all made small talk for about an hour.

"I'm going to bed, it's getting late," Rosalie said. It was late, 11:10 pm.

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight girls, see you tomorrow." I said goodbye to everyone, I grabbed Kate.

"Have fun with Garrett." She responded, "Have fun with Jasper." She winked and walked out.

I walked into the dining room and saw Peter, Garrett, Jasper, Edward and Emmett sitting at the table laughing and telling jokes.

"Hey Bells." Emmett greeted me.

"Hey Em. Everyone is going to bed now."

Everyone got up and started walking to their rooms. I waited for Jasper. I showed him to my room, or I suppose "our" room.

"So um. I'm just going to brush my teeth. There is a spare one underneath the sink."

I walked into the en-suite, washed my face, put my hair in a ponytail and then brushed my teeth. After that, I got changed into my pyjamas. It is quite a night warm because it's July. So I just wore a pair of shorts and a tank top. I walked back into the room and Jasper was changing Tabitha. He was shirtless and was wearing just his jeans, they were slung low on his hips.

"Bathroom's free now," I told him.

He said he would go in a second, he finished changing Tabitha and passed her to me. He walked in. I sat in the bed and got under the covers. I held Tabitha and sorted out where she was sleeping. She was going to sleep in between mine and Jaspers pillows.

Jasper came out 5 minutes later. I was speaking softly to Tabitha who was looking up at me with her gorgeous grey eyes. Jasper took off his jeans and was in just his boxers and climbed into the bed.

"So. When is your birthday?" Jasper asked me.

"September 13th, yours?"

"December 14th."

"What are you going to do about Maria?"

He sighed. "We'll just have to wait for her next move, see what she is planning."

"How long are you guys staying here?"

"Around a week, until we get all the business stuff sorted."

"What about after that, what is going to happen then?"

"Well, we will just go about our normal days, meeting up when necessary to discuss plans and other stuff like that. We will all probably see each other a lot. New relationships and friendships have formed."

"Yeah. I really like Charlotte. She is really fun. I can see us becoming great friends."

"I like Edward and Emmett. In the beginning, it was a bit awkward you know the whole holding you guys hostage thing, but they have relaxed and we were laughing and shit."

"I'm glad you guys are friends," I replied. I yawned then.

"Well, goodnight Jasper."

"Goodnight Isabella."

I placed Tabitha in between the pillows and she fell asleep. I fell asleep shortly after that.

I woke up around 2 am because Tabitha was crying. I saw Jasper was still asleep so I got up and fed and burped her. I placed her back down and I lay down facing Jasper. He looked peaceful when he slept, his honey blonde hair fell into his eyes and I moved it before I even realised what I was doing. His strong jaw was accentuated in the moonlight. He was god-like in the pale glow. I closed my eyes and fell asleep facing him.

I woke up for a second time when Tabitha was again crying. I didn't open my eyes because I felt Jasper get up and take her. He came back 5 minutes later and I felt his eyes on me. I still kept my eyes closed. I felt him stroke my cheek and it took all I had in me not to smile. I heard him whisper,

"Beautiful, Isabella."

I heard his breath even out after that. I let my smile spread across my face.

* * *

_**The Next Morning…** _

It was about 8:30 am when I got up and out of bed. Jasper was still asleep so I fed and changed Tabitha. I decided to have a shower. I was singing "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley.

When I got out of the shower and put a towel around myself I started brushing my hair out. I started singing my favourite song when I did, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston.

I _finally_ finished brushing my hair and I was still singing when I exited the en-suite. Jasper was wearing jeans and he was sitting on the floor and Tabitha was having tummy time.

"Hey, Bella. Nice singing."

"Shut up Jasper." I laughed and he smiled, showing he knew that I wasn't serious. I walked into my walk-in closet and chose a summery blouse and jeans because it was sunny outside.

Jasper was changing into a new shirt. One of the girls must have gotten it for him.

"You coming to get breakfast?" Jasper asked me. I nodded and we walked together into the dining room. Everyone was already there. I saw Kate and Garrett sitting very close to each other and Garrett smirked at Jasper and Kate winked at me. I also saw that Riley and Alistair were talking to each other. I walked over to Alice, Rose, Edward and Emmett with Jasper.

"Hey, Jas." Edward and Emmett said.

"Hey, Bella." Alice and Rose said.

We made small talk and joked while we all ate breakfast. I kept sneaking looks at Jasper. He was beautiful when he laughed, his laugh was deep and manly.

Dad got a call and stood up abruptly and walked out of the room. We all shrugged it off as nothing.

Just as we all finished cleaning up, Dad called a meeting. He said that only the females and Peter, Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Alistair, Carlisle and Garrett. I started to worry. I sat with Jasper on my right and Edward and Emmett on my left.

"This is major news and I would like nobody to say anything until I have explained everything." We all nodded and he continued, "I got a call from Eleazar Benito, for all of you that don't know, he is the police chief at the Seattle police station. He gives us important information. He called me and told me that Jacob Black is being released tomorrow."

There was complete silence. I grabbed Jasper's hand. I was thrown back into memories.

" _Jake please don't." Jake had been drinking and he thought I was cheating on him. I was curled up in a ball in the corner, trying to shield myself from his kicks._

" _You stupid bitch! You can never leave me!" He swung the bottle at me._

" _NO JAKE!"_

"Bella? Bella, darlin' look at me." I looked into Jaspers panicked grey eyes. He hugged me and I was too numb to even cry.

"How?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know. Billy managed to pull some string and get him out early." Dad was racking his hand through his hair.

"What are we going to do?" Garrett asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what he is planning."

"He will kill her!" Edward shouted. Jasper pulled away from me.

"We can't let that happen! Alistair, I want you to check everything about Jacob Black, phone calls, security cameras and everything you can on 'The Black Pack'. Everything, members, plans, phone logs, phone calls." He continued, "Pete get everyone to take turns patrolling, here and the mansion." They both nodded.

"We can't do anything until we know his plan. He doesn't know that we know so that gives us a _slight_ advantage."

The meeting was adjourned shortly after that, I blocked most people out, I was lost in my memories.

_I was in Carlisle's own hospital room and he was sewing up my slit lip and glueing my head because it had been split._

" _Bella you need to tell me how this really happened. I know you are clumsy but you aren't clumsy enough to split your lip and head open."_

" _I can't tell you, Carlisle."_

" _It will only stay between us, patient-doctor confidentiality."_

_I sighed and gave in, telling him. "Jake punched me in the face and he… he threw me against the edge of the table." I was sobbing now. "Don't tell anyone, Jake will hurt me if he finds out that I told you."_

" _Don't worry Bella, I won't tell another soul."_

It only vaguely registered with me that Jasper was taking me into my bedroom. I felt suddenly exhausted. Jasper sat me down on the bed. He walked into the en-suite and started running a bath. He came and told me to undress and that he wouldn't look, I did as I was told and then I got into my dressing gown.

The room was covered in steam, the smell of lavender hit my nose immediately. The bath was very bubbly.

"Get in and I will wash your hair." He turned around and waited until I said he could turn back around. He couldn't see anything because there were so many bubbles. The water was the perfect temperature.

He used the showerhead and wetted my hair then he grabbed the shampoo. It was coconut scented. He massaged my scalp and scrubbed my hair well. After that, he washed it off and put on the conditioner. He washed that off and then let me relax for 10 minutes. He walked out to give me some privacy. Jasper seemed to chase Jake away. I could only seem to think about how gentle he was when scrubbing my hair and how perfect the bath was.

He walked back in with my dressing gown and my hairbrush. He passed me the towel when I got out and he drained the bath. I stood in front of the mirror and he started brushing out the tangles from my hair. I hummed in contentment. When he was done he put my hair up on a loose ponytail. I walked into the bedroom and was shocked. On the bed was a pair of my favourite pyjamas and chocolate as well as biscuits.

"Jasper!" I squealed and hugged him. He chuckled. "Alice picked out the pyjamas, by the way."

I got changed and got under the covers of the bed. "You can choose any movie you want to watch, I'll watch it with you," Jasper said.

I chose "Pretty Women". I absolutely love this movie.

About halfway through the movie, I snuggled into Jasper, he pulled me closer to his chest.

"You didn't have to do this Jasper."

"You're right. I didn't _have_ to but I wanted to."

"Now I think it's time for a nap."

"I am pretty tired. Are you going to stay?"

"If you want me to darlin'"

"Can you stay then?"

He readjusted so he was lying down and my head was on his chest and he had his arm around me.

I quickly fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

* * *

**JPOV**

I heard her breathing even out and I knew she was sleeping. I couldn't believe it, Bella had sat in shock throughout the meeting. Charlie had told us about Jacob Black. I was absolutely disgusted, how could someone do that to someone as nice as Bella. I knew that I had to get her to stop thinking about it, that is why I ran a bath and watched a movie. I gave Tabitha to Renee and Esme, they offered to take her.

I sighed. I hate that all we can do is wait. There is so much shit happening at the moment. Maria, Jacob Black and we haven't sorted out everything yet. The meeting yesterday went well. We are going to build or buy a new estate in Portland, Oregon. That way we can try to distance ourselves from the "Black Pack". We are going to have to move sooner rather than later because of this news. Obviously, I am going to keep the family mansion and Pete is going to keep his own house but we will use them as our homes and we will use the estate as a work base. I took out my phone.

**Charlie Swan: We have selected an estate. 20 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, a stable, multiple buildings and a garage big enough for everyone's cars. Maximum security. Located in the countryside.**

**Pete: We are buying it. It is perfect, we will move in on the 31st that gives us 5 days, you'll have to go to the mansion and get everything. Bring Bella with you when you go, don't ask.**

**Rosalie: How is Bella?**

**Alice: Is Bella alright?**

**Tanya: How is she?**

**Irina: Is Bella feeling better?**

**Kate: Is she doing any better?**

**Edward: Is she alright?**

**Emmett: How is Bels doing?**

I sent a mass text to everyone.

**Me: Bella is OK, she is sleeping. We watched a movie and she had a bath.**

The responses were immediate.

**Alice: Good!**

**Tanya: That will make her feel better.**

**Edward: Some sleep will do her good.**

**Rosalie: Let me guess, Pretty Woman?**

**Emmett: Hopefully she will feel better after a nap.**

**Kate: I'm glad.**

**Irina: Thanks, Jasper.**

I started running my hand through Bella's hair. She smiled. She slept for until 5:30. She woke up and snuggled into my shoulder. She froze. She moved away from me blushing.

"Sorry, Jasper."

"Don't worry about it, Bella. We have half an hour before dinner."

"I'm just going to get changed." Bella walked into the walk-in closet. She came out 20 minutes later wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Although it was a basic outfit, she made it look amazing.

"You look beautiful." Shit. I didn't mean to say that out loud.

She smirked, "You don't look too bad yourself cowboy."

I knew then, at that exact moment, I had fallen. Hard.


	5. Kiss Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the shops Bella and Jasper visit don't make sense. I am not American so I just searched for them.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Kiss me, like you wanna be loved" ― **Ed Sheeran, Kiss Me**

* * *

**JPOV**

Everyone was in the dining room. Esme and Renee had made chilli. Bella seemed refreshed after her nap. She was laughing and talking with the girls. I sat beside Peter. I was talking to him, Edward, Emmett and Garrett. Bella was at the other end of the table with the Denali girls, Alice, Rosalie and Char.

"So Jas, how is Bella doing?" Edward asked me.

"She had a nap and I think she is better for it."

"She does look more refreshed and less worried," Emmett said.

I looked over and saw that she was laughing. She looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back. I looked back and Peter, Edward, Emmett and Garrett were sharing a look.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," Garrett replied.

"Anyway, how's Kate?" I asked Garrett.

"She is amazing. I know it is early but I think she is the one. We have so much in common and she is _amazing_ in bed." We all laughed.

"Speaking about 'the one', I am thinking of proposing to Alice," Edward told us.

"How long have you been together?" I asked.

"We started _officially_ dating on Ali's 19th but we have known each other since Ali joined the Cullens when she was 14 and I was 16. So we have been together for around six years. I feel like it's the next step and we have been talking about starting a family soon."

"I think that would be a great idea, I have been thinking of proposing to Rose too."

"How long have you known her?" Garrett asked.

"Well I can't remember exactly when we got together but I have known Rose ever since she was adopted by the Cullens on her 17th birthday. I was 18. At first, she _hated_ me. She had just left an abusive relationship and she had been through some shit. She hated that I could make her laugh. It took a whole fucking _year_ before she would even call me her friend." He rolled his eyes, but I could tell it was filled with love, "We got together sometime around her 20th birthday. She has been talking about wanting a baby and to have a family."

"Peter, what is married life like? How did you know she was the one?" Edward asked curiously.

"It is cheesy but it is like living with your best friend. It just hits you. She does tiny things and you realise that you have been falling in love. You love her little quirks and you know that you could live your entire life with her."

We all sat in silence for a while while we ate our meal. We were all thinking about our loves. I was thinking about Bella. When I looked back I could see that I had been falling ever since I met her. Ever since she strode up confidently and threatened me. I could see it, me and Bella growing old together. She would be a great mother to Tabitha, hell, she already was.

We finished dinner and we all helped with cleaning up. I was drying the dishes with Bella and Charlie and Carlisle were washing them.

"I need to give Tabitha a bath," I told Bella.

"I'll help you if you want."

"That would be great."

We finished and I got Tabitha, Charlotte gave her to me.

"I fed, burped and changed her. You will need to go to the shop and buy some more food for her."

"Thanks, Char. Tell the boys I am bathing Tabitha."

"Will do Jasper."

Bella and I walked into the en-suite. I grabbed the BabyDam and the bath seat. I ran the bath, making sure it wasn't too hot. I put bubble bath in.

Bella placed her in. I rolled up my sleeves and so did she.

Tabitha was giggling. Bella poured water on her head, making sure that none got in her eyes.

I passed her the shampoo and Bella washed her hair and then shaped it into a mohawk. She was laughing. I nudged her and she moved to the side. I used the bubbles from the water and made it look like she had George Washington hair. Bella started laughing and that made Tabitha laugh. Bella put her hand in the water and flicked it at me. I laughed,

"Oh no, you don't!" I splashed her back. We went on like this for a few minutes until I started tickling her.

"No….No stop…. I can't breathe…. You win!" I stopped tickling her and she gently slapped me.

"You are such an ass." I laughed.

We finished washing Tabitha and took her out of the bath.

"You're so cute. Aren't you?" She kissed Tabitha on the cheek and dried her. She put a diaper on her and put her in a light green onesie.

Bella put her down on the bed and she fell asleep.

"I need to go to Walgreens and Nordstrom to get some formula, wipes and some clothes for Tabitha," I told Bella.

"Do you want me to come?"

"Are you sure that is wise?" I asked her, she knew what I was talking about.

"Yes. He is not out yet and none of them will do anything until he is out." She said this confidently.

"OK, I also have to stop off at the house to grab some things."

She nodded. I grabbed Tabitha and we walked to Garrett's door. I knocked and Garrett opened it.

"We are going to the shops and I'm stopping off at the house to get some things. Can you take Tabitha? I would give her to Char but she deserves a break. "

"Sure Jas, we will be fine with Baby T. When will you be back?"

I checked the time, it was 7 pm. "9 ish." Garrett nodded, "Alright, see you soon Jas."

"We will take Edward's car. I love driving it when I can." Bella told me. I loved that, the fact that she was _telling_ me she was driving. I nodded.

Edward's car was a silver Volvo. We got in and Bella controlled the music.

The first song was Billy Idol "Dancing with myself". Bella was singing along and dancing (as well as she could in a car). I was singing along with her. The song ended and Bella said,

"I fucking love that song." I laughed.

"I can tell."

The next song was Billy Ocean "Love Really Hurts Without You". When she was singing I was just listening. She had a fantastic voice. We arrived at Nordstrom first. We got out and Bella locked the door. We walked across the parking lot and I saw a few sketchy looking guys. I grabbed Bella's hand, she didn't seem to mind and moved closer to me. I grabbed a basket and we walked to the baby section,

"So what do we need?" I loved how she said _we._

"Well, she needs some hats for winter and a few new onesies."

We were walking around holding hands.

"Jasper look at this!" She was holding a yellow headband with a bow on it, "Tabby would look so cute in this." I agreed and we put it in the basket.

I picked up a pack of 3 bibs. Bella next picked up a pack of 3 baby blue bodysuits.

"These will go perfect with the headband." She was so happy, picking out clothes for Tabitha.

"We have to go darlin'. We still need to get food and go home and pick some stuff up."

We walked to the checkout. There was an old lady there.

"You two make such a nice couple! How old is the baby?"

"She is two and a half months old," Bella answered. She didn't correct her.

"Bet you're not sleeping through the night!" We both laughed with the cashier, thanked her and walked out.

We put the bags in the trunk and got in the car.

"Why didn't you correct her?" I was curious so I had to ask.

"Maybe I didn't think it needed correcting." I smiled at her and she smiled back.

The song that played was The Supremes "You Can't Hurry Love". Bella was singing along and she looked so carefree and happy. It didn't take long until we got to Walgreens.

We again walked in hand in hand. We walked into the baby section.

"I'll be back in a min," Bella said and then squeezed my hand before letting go. She came back a few minutes later.

"Find everything you need?" I asked her.

"Yep."

She grabbed my hand and we continued walking around. I grabbed the formula we needed and we went to the checkout. I saw when the items were getting scanned that Bella bought some tampons.

We got in the car. It was a 15-minute drive to the house. We got out and I unlocked the door.

I went into the office and took 2 suitcases. I took a picture of me and Peter when we were boys out of a draw. I also took one of Tabitha when she was a newborn. Next, I took a blanket that was in the crib. I walked around the office picking up history books that I wanted, I made sure to take my favourite one on the American Civil War. I got to the bottom drawer and took out the stash of money I had in there, around 10k. Bella was looking at the books on the shelves.

"You can take as many as you want," I told her. She immediately grabbed two. After a minute she took another 3.

"What books did you take?"

"Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Fahrenheit 451 and The Wind in the Willows for Tabitha when she starts reading. It was the first full book I read.."

"Really? I loved that book, it was also my first book." She smiled.

We walked into my bedroom. I walked into the closet, only mine and Tabitha's clothes remained. I grabbed another bag and took all of Tabitha's clothes, toys and formula. I took another bag and took all my clothes. I left 2 of everything.

"You can put your books in the suitcase."

Bella nodded and put them in the bag with the clothes. "I am just going to see if there are any others."

I nodded and she walked back into my office.

I went over to the nightstand and took out a phone charger and I saw a picture of Maria beside it. I walked into the kitchen and threw it into the bin.

I then walked into the en suite. I grabbed deodorant, shampoo and body wash for me and shampoo and bubble bath for Tabitha. I saw that under the sink there was a whole load of unopened bath and shower stuff. I took a plastic bag and put everything in it. I was counting as I put everything in; 15 bath bombs, 10 bath fizzers, 14 bottles of different scented shampoo, the same amount of conditioner, 25 pieces of soap, 4 bottles of bubble bath, 2 bath oils, 5 body washes and 6 packets of bath salts.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with all this stuff, give it to Bella. I zipped up the suitcase and carried the plastic bag to the front door, I left it there and walked into the office. I couldn't help but laugh when I went in. Bella had a pile of books on the floor.

"What books do you have now?" I asked her. She turned back around, her face covered in a look of pure glee.

"Well, I have all of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series all the Harry Potter's and The Inheritance Cycle."

"Well, darlin' let's take them out to the car." She jumped up.

I opened the front door and put the suitcase and the plastic bag in the trunk. I helped Bella put her books (23 in total) in the backseat. We put them all in and she gave me a massive hug.

"Thank you so much, Jasper." I hugged her tighter. I knew why Peter wanted me to bring her with me.

She let go and I went and locked up the house. She got in the driver's seat again. Instead of listening to music, we talked all the way back.

"Where did you get all the books from?"

"Some have been passed down, others I bought. I enjoy reading, especially fantasy as you can probably tell." She laughed, "Yeah, I can tell."

We got back.

"We will just take everything to my room." I nodded, we started by bringing the books in. Then we brought in the shopping and then I took in the suitcase and finally the bag of bath and shower stuff.

"I'm going to get Tabby." I nodded and Bella went off to get her.

I was putting the shower stuff in her walk-in closet so she would find it hopefully tomorrow because her pyjamas were already on the bed. Bella came back in with a screaming Tabitha.

"Shush now Tabby." She walked into the en-suite and changed her. She came back in,

"Let's go into the kitchen to heat her milk." I nodded and took some formula out of the suitcase then we walked into the kitchen.

Emmett and Rosalie were in there. "Hey Bels, Jas." Emmett greeted us.

"Hey Emmy, Rose." I made the formula and I gave the bottle to Bella and she started feeding Tabitha.

"Hey, Bels. Get everything you needed from the shops?"

"Yeah. Got some stuff for Tabby. OMG guess what? We went to Jasper's house and Jasper has a shit ton of books. I took 23 books."

"Bels only you would take that many books." Emmett laughed and ruffled her hair. Rose laughed too.

"Speak to you later sis." Rose and Emmett walked out.

"What book are you going to read first?" I asked her. She paused and thought about it for a bit.

"Probably Harry Potter. I have been meaning to read them for years."

"I've read them, they are really good. I haven't watched the movies yet though, I've been too busy."

"That's perfect! I can read them and then we can watch the movies together."

She finished feeding Tabitha and then she burped her. Tabitha was sick down her back.

"Can you hold her?" I took Tabitha from her and cleaned her mouth. I looked back up and Bella had taken her t-shirt off and was in just a bra. She had a toned stomach and her boobs were big but not too big. I noticed that she had a thick scar that ran from her right shoulder down to her left hip. Her body was covered in scars.

"I'm gonna put this in the wash. I'll meet you in the room" I nodded. She walked off and I quickly adjusted myself. Fuck now I was hard and I couldn't take care of it.

I walked into the bedroom and set Tabitha down in the bathroom and changed her. I heard Bella come back in. When I turned around she had changed into her pyjamas.

"How is Tabby?" She asked.

"She is just tired now." She took Tabitha from me and put her in between the pillows.

"Jasper, thanks for everything. The books, the bath, watching the movie and the chocolate."

She walked closer to me, "I really appreciate it."

I took a step closer. We were so close. I reached a hand up and stroked her cheek.

"I would do anything for you," I said in nearly a whisper.

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

She put her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear, "Then kiss me."

I did as she said. Our lips met gently. I slowly and tentatively pushed my tongue into her mouth. I explored her mouth and she explored mine in turn. I broke the kiss, she looked me in the eyes and giggled.

I wrapped my arms around her waist. "What's so funny darlin'?"

"I've wanted you to do that for ages."

I couldn't resist. I pressed one more gentle kiss to her lips.

"So have I." She smiled at that.

"I need to take a shower," I told her.

"I'll put the books away."

I opened the suitcase and took out the shampoo and body wash. I also took out a wife beater and a new pair of boxer shorts. I walked into the bathroom and I turned on the hot water and stepped in.

* * *

**BPOV**

I touched my lips. I can't believe he kissed me. I can't believe I was that bold. I grabbed my phone and texted Rose, Ali, Char, Kate, Irina and Tanya. Chelsea and Heidi weren't in this group chat because we aren't as close to them.

**Me: Major fucking news! I asked Jasper to kiss me, and he did!**

The responses were immediate.

**Rose: WTF I** _**knew** _ **you liked him. Well? Is he a good kisser?**

**Ali: OMG How do you feel?**

**Char: I knew Jas had a thing for you!**

**Kate: Haha I knew you would make the first move.**

**Irina: I am so happy for you two Xx**

**Tanya: Give us** _**all** _ **the details.**

**Me: He is a great kisser. I was just thanking him for today and he stroked my cheek and said he would do anything for me so I said kiss me and he did. He is in the shower now. I am so fucking happy.**

**Rose: Knew he would be a good kisser.**

**Char: Aw that is romantic!**

**Ali: You two make such a cute couple.**

**Irina: That is so cute!**

**Tanya: I agree with Irina.**

**Kate: Told Garrett and he said he is glad. You're perfect for Jas. His words.**

**Me: Thanks, girls! Kate, tell Garrett that I say thank you. Night, talk to you all in the morning.**

**Kate: I told Garrett. Goodnight. Sleep well. ;)**

**Tanya: Night.**

**Ali: Talk to you tomorrow.**

**Char: Have a nice night.**

**Irina: Speak to you tomorrow.**

**Rose: I want full details! Night Xx.**

I put all the books away on my bookshelf except Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I sat in bed and started reading it.

I had just finished the first chapter when Jasper came out. He was wearing a wife-beater and a pair of boxer shorts. He looked very sexy. He was towel drying his hair. I grabbed a comb.

"Sit down, I'll comb your hair."

"Really? The last person who did that for me was my momma." He sat down on the end of the bed and I started combing through his honey blonde hair, working out all the knots.

"What happened to your parents? If you don't mind me asking." He sighed.

"Well, it's a long story. My momma and daddy fell in love when they were very young, only 16. They had Peter when they were 25, I came when they were 27. We had happy childhoods. They were great parents. I met Maria when I was 16, she was 18. I thought it was love. I was very fucking wrong. I took her to meet the parents when I was 18. They hated her. Me being a teenager thought they knew nothing. They were furious when I proposed to her, they warned me that they would disown me. I told them that they couldn't do that, well guess what, they did. The only reason I have the mansion is that it was passed on to Peter when he got married and Peter said that I could have it. They have never met Tabitha, I last talked to them when I was 21, right after I proposed. They said they would only talk to me again when I 'found a proper girl that actually loved me and wouldn't mess me around'. I caught Maria with multiple guys but she told me that she wouldn't do it again. She was a sadistic bitch. I was going to divorce her but that was when she told me she was pregnant. I knew that I couldn't abandon my child and especially not with her."

I finished combing through his hair.

"I'm so sorry Jasper." He turned around.

"It's not your fault darlin'."

"Are you going to speak to your parents again?" I asked him.

He let out a bitter laugh. "I would need to find someone that loved me first."

I hummed. Give it a few weeks…

"Anyway, Maria is gone now and I don't want to think of her. Thanks for doing that for me." He leaned up and kissed me.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of doing that." I giggled and kissed him on the cheek. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

I walked out and Jasper was under the covers and Tabitha was on his chest, he was speaking to her.

"So Tabitha, what do you think of Bella? I like her Tabby, I really do. I think she likes me too, that is a bonus. Do you like her?" Tabitha giggled, "I'll take that as a yes." He looked up and met my eyes. He knew that I heard him.

I got in my side of the bed and I snuggled into his side. He put one arm around me and held Tabitha with the other arm.

"I'm really worried about Jake," I told him. Jasper looked down at me and kissed me on the forehead.

"He won't do anything, I'll make sure of it. We have a plan. We are going to celebrate Randalls birthday in two days. Then we all move into the new estate on the 29th. We were going to move in on the 31st but Pete, Charlie and Carlisle negotiated and brought it forward 2 days. Then on August the first it's Toshiro's birthday. We celebrate that. Then we see what Maria and The Black Pack are planning, then we come up with a plan. Everything is sorted, don't worry darlin'. No one is going to get hurt."

"You were right Jasper."

"About what?"

"I do really like you."

He pulled us down so we were lying down. I had my head on his shoulder and Tabitha was on his chest. I couldn't help but think that we were like a family.

* * *

**JPOV**

I woke up around 4 times in the night and each time I fed, burped and changed Tabitha and then went back to bed. Bella would always put her head back on my shoulder. The fourth time Tabitha woke up it was 6:30 am. The sun was starting to rise. I knew I would have to get up and get breakfast at 7:30 am so I checked my phone. I had texts from some of the guys.

**Pete: I knew it. Guess you'll be visiting momma and daddy in a few weeks.**

**Garrett: I knew she would make the first move!**

**Edward: Don't break her heart.**

**Emmett: If you hurt her I will kill you.**

I knew Bella would tell the girls. I guess I'll have to talk to them later today. I will also have to ask Bella where we stand. I'll get up at 7 am. I looked down at Bella, she looked so peaceful when she slept. Tabitha was also sleeping. I could see this, all of us being a family. I knew deep down that I want that. Easier said than done. We really can't do shit until Jacob Black is either back in prison or preferably dead. Same goes for Maria.

Bella started to wake up. I checked the time, 6:45. She turned her head into the crook of my neck.

"What time is it?" She asked groggily.

"6:45 am darlin', we have to get breakfast at 7:30 am."

"I don't want to get up." I chuckled.

"Give me a minute." She yawned and turned out of my neck. She kicked off the covers and stretched. She reminded me of a cat.

She got out of bed and walked around to my side and picked up a, now awake, Tabitha.

"Good morning Tabby!" She was swinging her around and singing "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Tabitha was giggling. Bella was laughing along with her. She collapsed on the end of the bed with Tabitha.

"I love you, Tabitha May Whitlock."

I probably should be shocked but I wasn't. Everyone loved Tabitha May and I had a feeling Tabitha knew that too.

I sat up, stretched then stood up.

Bella stood up with me and we both made our way to the bathroom and we both brushed our teeth. She went and got changed in the walk-in closet and I got changed in the bathroom.

I was wearing a pair of jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. Something casual. Today was going to be quite relaxed. We are going to see what Alistair has found out about The Black Pack and then see if we can make a plan with the information we get. Before this though, I need to ask Bella where we stand.

Bella came out a few minutes after me, she looked stunning. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white and red striped t-shirt.

Bella helped me make the bed and it was only 7:15 am.

"Jasper, I need to know where we stand." She dove straight in.

"Well, where do you want to stand? I'll be frank with you Bella, I really like you and I can see a future with you. I know it's early days but that is how I feel."

"Honestly Jasper, I feel the same. So are we boyfriend/girlfriend?"

"Do you want to be boyfriend/girlfriend?"

"Yes." She leaned up and kissed me. "Now come on boyfriend, we have to go and eat breakfast."

"Let's go, girlfriend." She picked up Tabitha and we walked to breakfast.

We walked in and we were the first ones there.

Bella sat down and asked if I could make her some toast with marmalade. I went and put 2 pieces in and got the marmalade out of the fridge. Bella was holding Tabitha and talking to her. I couldn't hear what she was saying but I know it was about me because she was looking at me and smiling while talking.

I spread the marmalade on the toast and put the plate in front of her. She kissed me on the cheek and thanked me. I ate my piece of toast and I poured myself and Bella a bowl of cheerios.

"Coffee?" I asked. "Yeah, thank you."

Just as I finished making two coffees, one for me and one for Bella, Edward and Emmett walked in.

I placed the coffee in front of Bella and turned to Edward and Emmett.

"So Jasper, how was your night?" Emmett asked.

"Fine, you?"

"Good, good. I just want to tell you that if you eve—."

Bella interrupted him, "Ever hurt my little sister I will murder you in your sleep. Yes, yes, we all know this. Jasper will not hurt me and I know this for certain. He is my boyfriend now."

Emmett crossed his arms across his chest. "Oh really, boyfriend now?"

"Yes Em, he is my boyfriend. Don't even _try_ to act like you disapprove, I know you like Jasper and think he is a good match for me. Rose told me."

Emmett sighed and looked defeated, "Alright Bels I will admit I'm glad that you have someone to look after you." He turned to me and shook my hand, "You have my blessing."

Edward shook my hand after. We fell into easy conversation after that. A few minutes after Garrett came in.

"I knew she would make the first move! You're too chicken shit to do anything!"

"Fuck off Gar," I said jokingly.

"Jas right here has a girlfriend," Edward told Garrett.

"Look, all jokes aside, I'm really happy for you Jas. You deserve someone to love you. She is really great, just look at how she is with Tabitha." We all looked over and she was talking to her.

"What are you all looking at?" Bella asked us.

"Nothing darlin'."

Rose, Alice and Kate came in after that. They all swarmed around Bella. Bella was talking to them and then they all squealed and hugged her.

"Probably just told them about you two becoming a couple," Edward stated.

Slowly more people started coming in until everyone was in. I had told all the boys and Bella had told all the girls.

Charlie got our attention, "Meeting at 10 am, everyone can do their own thing until then."

Bella came up to me and the other girls went to their man.

"Do you want to go out to the garden where we can all talk?" Char asked us all. We all agreed and made our way outside.

The sun was bright and we were all sitting outside talking.

The time flew by in a flurry of laughing and talking and soon it was time for the meeting.

* * *

**BPOV**

I had given Tabitha to mom and Esme. I sat beside Jasper at the meeting table and he was holding my hand. Alistair started the meeting,

"So I have found out who the members of The Black Pack are. They are; Billy Black, Jacob Black, Renesmee Black, Rachel Black, Rebecca Black, Quil Ateara V, Paul Lahote and Embry Call. Billy Black is father to Jacob, Rachel and Rebecca. Renesmee married Jacob while he was in prison. Quil, Paul and Embry have been threatening to leave and from what I have seen, not very loyal. I have pulled up text messages sent from Quil to a girl called Claire Young."

**Quil: Jake and Billy are demanding me to do shit I wish I could fucking leave.**

**Claire: You can leave.**

**Quil: It's not as easy as that C.**

**Claire: How?**

**Claire: Quil, this isn't how you want to spend your life. You are going to leave eventually.**

**Quil: I know. I will. By the end of the year, this will all be behind us and we will be together.**

"I have text messages between Paul and Embry discussing leaving."

**Paul: We should leave.**

**Embry: I know but how would we.**

**Paul: IDK I haven't thought that far ahead yet.**

**Embry: Let's talk later at the normal place.**

**Paul: See you there.**

"So it's safe to say that if anything happens, they won't put up much of a fight. I don't know what they are planning but I know they have two hostages, Leah and Seth Clearwater. They were captured because their father, Harry Clearwater didn't keep up with payments. Harry was killed and they took Leah and Seth. They haven't said what they are planning to do with them but I know that they could be very helpful. As for Jacob and Billy's plan regarding Bella, I haven't found anything. I honestly don't think they know what they are doing. They didn't think Jake would be imprisoned so they didn't have any backup plans regarding that. To conclude, Paul, Embry and Quil are not very loyal. Seth and Leah Clearwater are being kept hostage and from what I have seen, The Black Pack are very weak currently. Our best course of action would be to wait and see what they are planning. I will keep an eye on everything and tell you if anything changes."

Alistair sat down and dad stood up, "So that is the meeting adjourned. Our plans are as follows, tomorrow we celebrate Randall's birthday then we move into the new estate the following day. On the first of August, we celebrate Toshiro's birthday and then we see where we go from there. Thanks for listening, that is the meeting adjourned."

We all stood up and filed out.

"You alright darlin'?" I asked Bella. That seemed a lot to take in, especially the fact Jacob got married.

"I'm fine. I don't even care that Jake got married. Honestly, fuck him."

I laughed, "Fuck him indeed."


	6. Birthday Celebrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump. Now it is the morning of Randall's birthday; 28th July
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me." ― **Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance With Somebody**

* * *

**BPOV (9 am)**

All the girls were in the kitchen baking cupcakes for Randall. I was making the frosting with Char and Alice. Just simple chocolate buttercream to go with the vanilla cupcakes. Randall wanted them to be pretty basic. Dad and Carlisle where grocery shopping and all the other men were talking.

We are all going to go out and have some drinks and dance. Although Jake was out, he wouldn't do anything with most of us there. The parents are going to stay home with Tabitha. It is going to be a lot of fun. It will be nice to relax.

Someone was playing music on their phone. The song changed to "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. We were all singing along.

"I fucking love The Breakfast Club," Irina announced. We all laughed and talked about it for a while.

We finished the cupcakes at 10 am. They looked really good. There was enough for two each. We all helped clean up.

"We should make this a tradition." Ali said, "I mean all of us baking. Every Saturday we could bake something new. Each of us could have our own week, to teach everyone to bake something."

"That sounds like a great idea sweetie." Esme agreed, "How will we decide whos week it is?"

"We could do it by birthday order. For example, Renee would be next week and them me after."

We all agreed. "I'll make a table so we know whos week it is," Kate said. She walked out to work on it.

"I will need to think about what I want to bake," Heidi said.

We all talked about what we would be baking. Around 20 minutes later Kate came in with a piece of laminated paper. She placed it down and we all took turns looking at it.

Renee ( 16th Feb)

Alice (21st Feb)

Rose (25th April)

Char (24th May)

Esme (15th June)

Kate (14th Aug)

Chelsea (6th Sept)

Bella (13th Sept)

Irina (21st Sept)

Tanya (22nd Sept)

Heidi (5th Oct)

"Thank god I have a few weeks to think about what I am going to bake!" Char exclaimed.

Peter walked in then. He made a bee-line to the cupcakes.

"Are these for me?" He asked while reaching for one. Char slapped him over the head.

"Ow, what was that for?!" Peter asked.

"The cupcakes aren't to be eaten now!" Peter walked out grumbling, I heard him say, "All I wanted was one fucking cupcake."

"Peter Charlie Whitlock. I heard that!" Peter ran out of the door. We all burst out laughing. Peter and Char could act like children sometimes.

We made sandwiches for lunch. The boys came in at 12 pm. Dad and Carlisle came back around that time. They had groceries and alcohol. They had whiskey and wine.

I was speaking to Jasper while we ate lunch.

"Are you looking forward to tonight?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it has been ages since we all went out as a big group. It will be great fun. Plus, I can't wait to get you drunk." He jokingly elbowed me in the side and we both laughed.

"As if you could get me drunk," I replied.

We continued talking and laughing until we finished lunch.

We started singing happy birthday and we gave Randall his cupcakes. Esme handed out 2 to everyone. We all wished Randall a happy birthday. The cupcakes were delicious.

* * *

**BPOV (8 pm)**

I was getting ready. I had decided to wear a red blouse with jeans and heels. Something kind of dressy but also casual. I was doing my makeup and Rose was curling my hair. Alice and Char were also here. Ali was doing Char's hair. We were all talking.

"I'm so excited! We haven't done this for _ages._ " Ali was squealing in excitement.

Rose snorted, "Ali, last time we all went out Edward had to carry you out. You're such a lightweight." We all laughed.

"Well, you weren't doing so well yourself. As I recall, you were sick down yourself and Emmett." Ali retorted.

"Shut up Ali." Rose pouted.

It took a further 30 minutes before we were all ready. The boys were all in the sitting room, we walked down the stairs and Peter exclaimed,

"Finally! Took you long enough." Char gave him a look, he shut up.

The boys all stood up. I walked up to Jasper and he kissed me on the cheek. He whispered in my ear,

"You look beautiful, darlin'." I blushed and he grinned.

"Come on love birds, let's go," Garrett said.

I grabbed Jasper's hand and we walked out. We had called taxis because none of us wanted to be the designated driver. I got in with Jas, Peter and Charlotte. Peter was in the passenger seat.

"Tyler, hey man." Peter greeted the driver, Tyler. Peter was talking to Tyler all the way to the club.

"See you later man." Peter paid and we got out.

The club was very fancy. We walked around the back and Peter got us in for free.

We walked in and Peter told us that he owned the club. He led us to the VIP area at the top. There was a private bar for us at the top. There were a few tables and we sat in our friend groups. I was sitting with Jas, Edward, Emmett, Garrett, Peter, Char, Kate, Rose and Ali. There were two people behind the bar, a woman and a man.

Jasper was telling us about the place, "Jane and Alec are behind the bar, they are twins. Only certain people are allowed in this club. We should be safe here, none of the Black Pack is allowed in."

I was looking around, there were tables and there was also a dance floor in the middle of the room.

Char stood up, "What does everyone want?"

"Long Island Iced Tea," I stated. Rose, Ali and Kate all asked for the same as me. The men ordered a bottle of Jack Daniels to share. Char nodded and walked off.

We always start off with a basic Long Island Iced Tea cocktail. Char returned 5 minutes later with our drinks.

"I forgot to mention if you want to hear a song, you can tell Jane and she will put it on next," Jas informed us.

"I know what song I want next!" Ali got up and practically ran to Jane. We were all laughing.

"I don't know where she gets her energy from sometimes," Edward said, shaking his head. Ali came and sat back down.

"What song did you choose?" I asked her.

"You'll have to wait and see. You have to dance with me." Ali said sipping her drink.

We were talking until the song came on. It was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. Rose, Ali, Kate, Tanya, Char, Irina and I all got up. We were all dancing and singing along.

It was definitely going to be a great night.

* * *

**JPOV (10 pm)**

I was watching Bella dance, she looked beautiful. She was laughing and dancing with the other girls. She was singing along and she looked so carefree. I knew that this would be a good night.

She came back and sat down. She automatically put her hand in mine. I smiled, she didn't even realise that she had done it. She finished her drink.

I had finished my glass of whiskey. I poured myself another one.

"Can I have a sip?" Bella asked me, gesturing towards my whiskey.

"Of course." She grabbed it and took a sip. She didn't even wince even though it was neat.

Emmett nudged me, "I can see your shock, she is no lightweight. I would wager that she can drink more than you." I was shocked, she was so small, I wondered how. I guess I would have to wait and see if Emmett was telling the truth.

The next song that came on was "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet. The girls dragged us all up. Bella was very relaxed and was dancing, I was spinning her around and we were jumping. It was very fun. Char and Bella switched and I saw Bella laughing with Pete.

"She really likes you," Char stated.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"When she sat down. She took your hand without even noticing she was doing it. That is how me and Pete are."

"I really like her too Char."

"I know, you were never like this with the bitch."

The song ended and Bella went to the bar. She came back with a whiskey sour.

"You really like whiskey," I stated.

"Yea. I grew up with these two fools," she said pointing at Edward and Emmett in turn, "They liked whiskey so I tried it and I really liked it. I have grown a tolerance. Not to say I get shit-faced all the time, just on occasion."

I drank my whiskey and I talked to Bella. I hadn't noticed but Pete had ordered pizzas and when I saw them I realised how hungry I was. Bella and I ate a few slices. We finished and were talking until we decided to get up and dance.

The song that was playing made everyone get up. It was "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk The Moon. Bella was singing and laughing.

She was beautiful. I knew that I had fallen in love and I would never let her go. I could never hurt her. I would be her protector. She could be and was rapidly becoming my world.

Rose grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her towards the bar, all the while chanting,

"Shots, shots, shots!"

Garrett walked up beside me, "Rose and Ali are shit faced. They are lightweights." I laughed, I glanced over and I could see that he was right.

"It's all the Tequila and Vodka they've had."

"Okay, okay, no more! That's 5!" I heard Bella exclaim. She turned around and walked back to the table. I went and sat beside her, she put her head on my shoulder.

"You alright darlin'?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I fucking hate vodka." She laughed.

I looked at the time, 2 am. The club would close in an hour.

"I'm going Jas, Kit Kat's shit-faced." He was holding Kate around the waist, she was leaning against him heavily.

"Us too." Edward and Emmett said. Rose and Ali were in the same position as Kate.

"Alright, see you, tomorrow guys." They waved and left.

Bella got up. "Dance with me?" I nodded and stood up. The club had started playing slower songs.

The song that was playing was "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka. We started slow dancing and Bella put her head on my shoulder and we were swaying to the music.

She looked up at me with her deep chocolate eyes. I kissed her.

"You ready to go home darlin'?"

"Yeah. I want to see Tabby." We kept dancing until the end of the song. Peter and Char were getting ready to leave too. I told Bella to tell them we were leaving and I went to the bar.

"Thanks, Alec, Jane." They nodded. I paid for the drinks and gave them both a $100 tip.

We wished Randall a happy birthday and then we left.

When we got back we said goodbye to Char and Peter. We then went and got Tabitha. Charlie was awake and told us that she had just been fed and changed and that she was just going back to sleep. I thanked him and we took her back to our room.

Bella passed Tabitha to me when we got in. "I'm just going to wash off my makeup and brush my teeth." I nodded and told her I was going to get a bottle of water for both of us.

I walked into the kitchen with Tabitha and took 2 bottles of water out of the fridge. I walked back up and Bella was out of the bathroom and she was looking through my suitcase.

"What are you looking for darlin'?" I asked as I set the water bottles down.

"One of your t-shirts." She replied offhandedly.

"Why would you want one of them?" I asked her curiously.

"To wear." She stated, turning around and rolling her eyes. She found one after a few minutes. It was an old faded blue one. She walked into the closet to get changed. I walked into the en-suite and brushed my teeth and changed. I was shirtless because it was really hot. I walked back out and Bella was just about to get into the bed. She had her hair up in a ponytail and she was wearing my t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts. She got in and patted the bed.

I got in and put Tabitha on my chest and Bella cuddled into my side.

"I can't wait to see the new place tomorrow."

"You will really like it, there is a cot for Tabitha."

"That's good," Bella let out a yawn.

"Get some sleep darlin'. Tomorrow is going to be busy." I told her and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Jas."

"Goodnight Bella."

* * *

**Jake POV**

The fresh air hit my face as I stepped out of the prison. Nessie was there to greet me as was the rest of my family.

"Jakey!" Nessie ran up to me and hugged me.

"Hey," I hugged her back.

We made small talk until we made it back to the res.

I sat down at the meeting table as I knew there was something they wanted to tell me.

Dad started, getting straight down to business. "The Swan-Cullens and the Whitlocks have joined forces. They are now the "CSW"."

I snorted, "Well that is fucking stupid."

"I have a plan on how we take them down. Jasper Whitlock has a child, a little girl. She is only a few months old. If we could somehow get our hands on her then we could get them to do anything we wanted."

"How would we do that?"

"Well…"

We came out of the meeting room. We had a solid plan. I smirked. I couldn't wait to get revenge on Bella Swan and her family for putting me in prison. Now, all we have to do is wait until the perfect moment to put it into action.

* * *

**BPOV**

I woke up because Jasper was gently shaking me.

"Darlin', it's 10 am, you have to get up."

"I don't want to," I whined.

"You have to pack all your stuff before we can move."

I sighed and stretched, slowly I opened my eyes.

"I'm up," I said as I got up. My headache protested.

"Ok darlin', here is an aspirin for the headache." He passed me an aspirin and a glass of water.

"You need to drink this and eat this." He passed me a bottle of water and a plate with 2 pieces of toast.

"I will," I mumbled as I walked into the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I then sat down and ate my toast and drank my water. Jasper had made the bed. I sighed and started packing.

* * *

**Peter POV**

All the men were in the kitchen. It seems that most of the girls had had a little too much to drink. Char was the only one that wasn't hungover. She hadn't had anything to drink. Still, me being the doting husband I am, I made her some toast and a cup of coffee. The other men had the same idea as me. Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Garrett had all made toast and some sort of drink for their girl and left to give it to them.

Currently, I was holding Tabitha. Jasper gave her to me and disappeared with the toast and water. We were starting to move today. Charlie, Carlisle, Renee and Esme had left with some stuff.

I had already gone to the mansion today and took all of me and Char's clothes and shit, I moved it from there to the new estate. We kept our house but I had agreed with Jasper that he could keep the mansion as his personal house. So I moved my shit out of it.

Jasper came back in. Emmett was right behind him.

"Rose kicked me out because I started packing clothes and I 'didn't fold them properly'. It really doesn't matter, they aren't going to be in there long before we start unpacking." Emmett rolled his eyes.

"I didn't even touch Bella's clothes. Rule 1 of females, don't mess with their clothes." Jasper stated.

We were talking about the mystical rules of females when Garrett, Edward, Felix and Laurent trudged in.

"You all get kicked out?" Emmett asked knowingly.

"How did you guess?" Garrett asked.

"Em and Jasper got kicked out too," I said.

"You didn't?" Felix asked disbelievingly.

"Char didn't drink, so she didn't need to kick me out," I said smugly.

"Lucky bastard." All the guys agreed with Garrett's statement.

Bella walked in. She walked into the fridge and took out a pink smoothie looking thing.

"What?" She asked when she saw we were all watching her.

"What is that?" Garrett asked.

"A strawberry smoothie." She was looking in the fridge again. She took out watermelon slices and grapes then she walked to the fruit bowl and took out 6 oranges.

"You're not gonna eat all that, are you?" Edward asked.

"No. I am here to get stuff for the girls." Bella said, walking out with an armful of fruit.

* * *

**BPOV**

I walked into Kate's room first. She asked for an orange. I gave it to her and she thanked me. I then made my way to Irina's room she asked for an orange too. Then it was Tanya, she wanted some grapes. I next went to Ali's room. She was folding her and Edward's clothes.

I gave her an orange and she took one watermelon slice.

"You're a saviour, thank you so much, Bella."

"No problem Ali." I walked out and went to Rose next.

I gave her an orange and the watermelon slices.

It was Char lastly, she had asked for the smoothie and an orange. She was making the bed when I walked in. She thanked me and I told her it was no problem and I left. I had finished packing so there really wasn't much point in going back to my room so I went back into the kitchen. I peeled my orange and ate it. It was sweet. I walked back in and all the men were talking.

"Finished packin'?" Pete asked me.

"Char, Irina and I have. Ali and Kate are folding clothes. Tanya is drying her hair. Rose is texting I think she has finished packing." I told them.

"Thanks, Bels." Emmett ruffled my hair and walked out. He knew I hated when he ruffled my hair. Laurent also thanked me and left.

I walked over to Jasper and he kissed me. Edward was glaring at him and I hit him on the arm and gave him a look. We were all talking until everyone came in. We all had lunch and then we started packing the cars and drove to the estate.

I was in Jasper's pick up and he was driving. I was holding Tabitha. It was quite a long drive, around 50 minutes. It was in a secluded area which was good. It was massive, not that I expected any less. There was an underground garage which was huge. We parked and got out. We waited a minute for the others, we all got out. Instead of taking our bags out straight away, we all went in to look.

Mom, dad, Carlisle and Esme were in the kitchen, taking out all the food. They gave us the tour around. They informed us that they would be staying at their house and would only come over for meetings and the like. Afton, Chelsea, Irina and Laurent also had their own homes they would be staying in. That left the rest of us to choose a room. Jasper, Tabitha and I were obviously sharing. Our room was beside Peter and Char's. Although Jasper, Peter and Char had their own house, they had decided they would use them for when they wanted some space. Everyone else chose their rooms and we were left to get settled.

Our room was massive, it had an en-suite with a bath. There was a walk-in closet that was big enough for mine and Jasper's clothes as well as Tabitha's things. There was a cot beside the bed. The bed was a king size. On the wall opposite there was a massive TV. There were bedside tables on each side of the bed as well as a bench at the end. There was a big window facing the countryside.

"What do you think?" Jasper asked me.

"It is perfect Jas! I'm so glad Tabby has a cot and there is enough storage and everything. I love it," I told him. Tabby was sleeping so I placed her in the cot.

"Let's go and get our stuff." I grabbed Jasper's hand and we walked to the car.

We had _finally_ finished unpacking everything. My headache has gotten better because Jasper has been telling me to drink water. He is really caring. We haven't heard anything from Maria or the Black's. So we have to just wait. I decided to continue reading. I was reading and Jasper was having a nap with Tabitha. I was happy.

* * *

**Char POV**

Pete and I had finished unpacking. We were sitting on the bed watching the TV. I switched the TV off.

"Pete?"

"Hmm?"

"When are we going to tell everyone?"

"Well, I think we will have to soon. It is getting hard to hide. I am fine whenever."

"I think we should tomorrow. I don't like hiding it."

"That's fine with me sugar. We will tell everyone tomorrow and then we can tell my parents in a week, is that ok with you?" He asked me.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

I hugged my husband.

"I love you."


	7. The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Black Pack does NOT know that Maria, Nettie and Lucy have left.
> 
> Maria does NOT know that "The Whitlocks" and "The Swan-Cullens" have formed an alliance.
> 
> They both do NOT know about the new estate.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Family is the most important thing in the world." — **Diana, Princess of Wales**

* * *

**BPOV**

It was our first day in the new place. We all met for breakfast in the kitchen. Mom, Dad, Esme, Carlisle, Santiago, Afton, Heidi, Demetri and Chelsea aren't here. Mom, Heidi, Chelsea and Esme are going to come over on the first to make Toshiro's birthday cupcakes and mom is going to teach us to bake something. Char and Pete have something to tell us but they said they want to tell us in the living area, not in the meeting room so it isn't business-related. They want us to meet them there at 2 pm.

Currently, it is 1:30 pm and I am doing tummy time with Tabby. I am lying on the floor facing her. She is getting better at holding her head up. Jasper is watching us. I know because I can feel his eyes on me. Tabitha was gurgling, whenever she lifted or attempted to lift her head, I kissed her little nose.

Char and Peter walked in around 2 pm. I got off the floor and went and sat beside Jasper. He put his arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder while I lifted Tabby up.

Slowly, everyone started filing in and taking seats until after 10 minutes, everyone was sitting down.

Char and Peter were holding hands on the middle couch. Peter cleared his throat and stood up, we all looked at him.

"So, as you know, we haven't gathered you here for a business meeting. We have some exciting news. As you know, Char didn't drink yesterday, which is rare for her, " Char smacked him on the leg.

"There is a good reason for this," -he paused- "We are pregnant!"

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Jasper exclaimed, jumping up.

"How far along are you?" Rose asked.

"About 3 and a half months," Char answered.

"This is great news!" Ali exclaimed, she jumped up and hugged Char. Everyone was up and congratulating them both.

I was with Ali and Rose when Char said, "Bella, Ali, Rose you're going to be aunts!"

We were sitting on the couch and talking about the baby, with Kate, Irina and Tanya. I was holding Tabby. Peter and Jasper had left as did the other men.

"So, do you know the gender yet?"

"No, we get to know on the 3rd of August."

"What do you want it to be?"

"I don't mind. I could imagine Pete and Jasper teaching a little boy to ride a horse like the country boys they are, and I could imagine Pete being the overprotective dad. Scaring away all the boys that even glance at his little girl." She smiled indulgently.

"Any name ideas?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I want it to be a traditional southern name or not."

"Have you told your and Pete's parents?" Tanya asked.

"Well, we are going to tell Pete's parents this weekend. We will leave early in the afternoon tomorrow. It is a 5-hour flight so we will probably get in around 6 pm but Houston is 2 hours ahead so it will be 8 pm there. Then we meet up with some of Pete's old friends, tell them, stay in a hotel for the night. Then we will go see his folks on the early morning of Saturday. It means we miss Toshiro's birthday though." Char told us.

"What about your parents?" Kate asked.

"It's just my dad. My mother left us when I was a newborn. I'll tell my dad when Pete tells his friends."

"Do you have any clothes?"

"Oh yeah, we will buy some new things if it's a boy but then we can also use some of Tabby's old clothes. She will have outgrown them by the time the baby is born."

"How do you feel about becoming a mom?" Rose asked.

"I am overjoyed. Pete and I have wanted this for years. I know Pete will be a great dad, he is great with Tabitha."

We continued talking about the baby until the men came back in.

"I need to feed Tabby." I stood up and Jasper walked out with me.

"How do you feel?" I asked Jasper as I got her formula ready.

"I am really happy for Peter and Char. They will be great parents. I can't believe I'm going to be an uncle."

* * *

**Char POV**

Me and Pete are packing an overnight bag. I was happy that went well. I was glad that I didn't have to hide it anymore, now that everyone knows.

"I'm glad that went well," I said voicing my thoughts.

"So am I."

"My baby is going to have the best mother," Pete started, walking towards me.

"The best father," I said walking into his embrace, "What do you want it to be?"

"I don't mind, as long as it's healthy."

"I love you, sugar." Pete kissed me on the head.

"I love you too."

* * *

**Peter POV (On the plane to Houston)**

Char and I have been on the plane for 4 hours. We are in first class. We said goodbye to everyone this morning and we wished Toshiro a happy birthday. Char is currently sleeping with her head on my shoulder. I am not worried about telling my parents or Char's dad. My parents like Char, they 'approved' of her before I married her, so I know they will be happy about this. Char's dad likes me and I know that as long as Char is happy, he will be happy.

I also need to tell Chris and Josh. They have been my friends since I was a young boy. We have kept in touch through the years and I know that I should tell them. I could just text them but I would rather tell them face to face.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the pilot said that we were about to land. I nudged Char and she woke up.

We departed the plane and got a taxi to the hotel. We put all our stuff in our room and then we took a taxi to the bar where we knew Chris and Josh would be.

We walked into the bar and we immediately saw Chris and Josh by the pool table. The bar wasn't too crowded, so as we walked in Chris and Josh turned around and saw us walking inside.

"Peter! Charlotte! Fancy seein' y'all round here!" Josh exclaimed walking up and hugging us.

"What are you doing here?" Chris questioned us while walking to a booth to talk.

"Well, we have news to tell you," Char said.

"I am pregnant!" Char exclaimed and Josh and Chris congratulated us. We talked for a while about the baby until we had to leave.

"Well, we can't stay long, got to tell the parents," I told them standing up.

"Tell us when the baby is born, and don't be a stranger," Josh said, hugging us.

"See y'all!" Chris waved as we walked out.

"Well, that went well, wouldn't you say?" Char said.

"Yeah, now we gotta tell your daddy," I told her while we walked.

We walked from the bar to Char's dad, it was only a 5-minute walk. We approached the house and rang the doorbell.

Spencer Aldridge answered the door and Char rushed into his arms.

"Hello, daddy," Char said when she pulled back.

"Hello, Mr Aldridge."

"Oh, come now Peter, you know it's Spencer." He ushered us inside.

"So, why are you here?" He asked us, sitting down on the couch opposite us.

"Well, we can't stay long but we have news for you," I started.

"Daddy, I'm pregnant!" Char told him. He jumped up. "Really, I'm going to be a grandfather, y'all gonna be parents!" He grabbed Char in a hug and then me.

"I'm not gonna lecture you, Pete, 'cause I know you are good to Char and I know that she loves you. You will be great parents."

We talked for another hour until Char started to yawn. Spencer told us to call us when the baby was born and to bring him/her around. We promised that we would and said our goodbyes.

We got back to the hotel at midnight. Char barely managed to get in the door before passing out. She never does well with jet-lag. I took her shoes and most of her clothes except her underwear off and placed her under the covers. I undressed until I was in just my boxers and slipped in beside her. I fell asleep soon after.

* * *

**Char POV (Saturday morning 1st August 8 am)**

I woke up at 7:45 am and I had a shower. Pete is still sleeping. I was getting hungry so I woke him up. We went to the local diner and had breakfast. We went back to the hotel room and checked out. We then got a taxi to Pete's parent's house. It was 30 minutes before we got to the house. It had 3 stories and a sprawling garden and of course a stable for 2 horses. It was 10:30 am by the time we got there so we knew that they would be awake. We paid the driver and took our luggage and got out of the taxi.

We walked to the front door and we knocked and waited. Pete's momma opened the door.

"Peter, Charlotte! What a surprise!" She wrapped us both in big hugs.

"Chester! Look who is here!" -there was a pause- "I'm just coming, who is it, Darlene?" Just then he came into view.

"Son, Charlotte, what are you doing here?" He gave us both hugs.

"Come in," Darlene ushered us in.

We sat down in the sitting room.

"Do y'all want anythin' to eat?" We shook our heads and explained that we just had breakfast.

"Actually, momma, daddy, we are here to tell you something."

"I am pregnant," I told them.

"Really, that's great news!" Darlene and Chester gave me both hugs.

We talked about the baby for a while.

"How is Jasper?" Darlene asked.

It was Darlene who had the hardest time with Jasper, she missed her baby boy. Chester also looked curious, though he tried to hide it. The last time we talked about Jasper, it was when we told them that Tabitha May was born.

"He is getting a divorce from Maria. We have formed an alliance with the "Swan-Cullens". There is a girl, Bella Swan, the daughter of Renee and Charlie Swan. She is a great mother figure to Tabitha. She is a great friend to me and is Jasper's girlfriend. She is nothing like Maria, in fact, she knocked her out and was going to kill her before I stopped it." Peter told them. We answered more questions about her and Jasper.

"I would like to meet this Bella," Chester said.

Peter took out his phone and texted Jasper, telling him. I texted Bella.

**Me: We have been talking to Pete's parents about you and Jasper. They want to meet you.**

**Bella: Really? Why?**

**Me: We told them about you being a parent to Tabitha and they want to see it for themselves. I'll text you more in around 3 hours when we leave.**

**Bella: Ok thanks, Char. Speak to you then.**

I put my phone down at the same time Peter did.

"Jasper said that he can get here on Wednesday. So we leave tomorrow night, around 5 pm and then we arrive back in Washington 5 pm Sunday. Then we have a scan to see the gender of the baby on Monday. Then Jasper and Bella will get here on Wednesday." Peter told them.

"So why did you form an alliance with the 'Swan-Cullens'?" Chester asked.

Darlene patted my knee and we excused ourselves and left Peter with his father.

When we left Darlene hugged me. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I can't believe I'm going to be a mother." We walked into the kitchen.

"You'll be a great mother Charlotte, never doubt it. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"Follow me."

We walked up the stairs and walked down a hall and turned into a room at the end of the hall. I knew it was Jasper's old bedroom. There was a bag on the bed.

"Can you take this and give it to Jasper." I knew that she meant it was for Jasper and Jasper only.

"I will."

She showed me to our room and I took the bag. We then went downstairs and took our bags and put them into the room.

"How are you doing?" I asked Darlene.

"I'm doing fine, Chester won't admit it but he misses Jasper. However, he doesn't regret the decision he made. Maria was toxic and I'm glad he has seen that and met someone else."

"She really is great for Jasper and Tabitha. She is really kind as well and one of my closest friends. I know that you'll love her."

"I hope you're right, Charlotte. I don't think I can stand throwing him out again, it nearly killed me last time. If it wasn't for you and Peter I don't think I would've gotten through it. I really hope he is happy and isn't angry with us."

"Darlene, trust me, he is the happiest I have ever seen him."

She nodded and we walked back into the sitting room. Pete was laughing with his dad. I sat down beside him and he put his arm around me. We continued talking about everything that had happened since we last saw them.

We were telling them about Maria and her leaving with Nettie and Lucy and how they are planning something.

"So you don't know what she is planning?" Chester asked worriedly.

"No, but if Alistair, our spy, finds anything he will call us immediately."

"Doesn't it worry you, not knowing what they are planning?" Darlene questioned.

"Well of course, but you can't live your life being worried."

My phone started ringing. I excused myself and walked out, closing the door behind me.

"Hello?"

-silence-

"Hello?" I was starting to get annoyed.

"Who is this?" I was going to hang up when I heard something.

"Charlotte Whitlock."

"Yes?" The phone call disconnected. Strange.

I walked back into the sitting room. Pete looked at me.

"Who was it?"

"I have a really bad feeling Peter."

He was up instantly. "What's wrong, is it the baby?"

"No, nothing to do with that. I picked up the phone and it was silent and as I was about to hang up someone said my name, then it disconnected."

"Char, sugar, it was probably nothing."

I grabbed his arm and something in my eyes must have told him something was wrong.

"No, Peter. I have a bad feeling about this."

"OK, OK. I'll call Alistair and see if anything has happened." He was going to stand up.

"Please stay." He nodded and sat back down. I hated this feeling.

Peter was on the phone, Alistair said something and he paled.

"That isn't poss—"

He was cut off by the door swinging open.

"Get down!" Someone shouted.

We all got on the floor. Peter grabbed my hand.

People were shouting at us to look at the floor. A hood was put over my face and someone yanked mine and Peter's hands apart.

I was hauled onto my feet. Peter was shouting and cursing. I was shoved out of the door and shoved into a car. I am getting scared, Peter isn't with me. My hands are tied behind my back.

I didn't pay attention to where we were going. I was trying to listen to the conversation of the people in the car with me. I knew that we were in deep shit when the people started speaking in Spanish.

That could only mean one thing, Maria. That was never good.

* * *


	8. Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Fear causes you to feel small and powerless." ― **Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life**

* * *

**Char POV**

I was in the car for around 3 hours before the car abruptly stopped and I was pulled out. My hood was still on my head and my arms were still tied behind my back. Someone took my phone from my back pocket. I tried to listen but I couldn't hear Pete or his parents. I gave up trying to listen and instead decided to memorise where I was being guided. That was again, useless. We were going down long corridors and eventually I was going down some stairs.

Someone roughly pulled the hood off of me. I tried to see their face but it was dark and I could tell that they had masks on. There were 2 men. One of them told me to sit down, I didn't want to challenge them so I sat down on the floor. They then walked out and locked the door behind them.

I wanted to cry. I wanted Peter.

However, I can't cry, I can't be weak. My eyes were still tied behind my back but I could tell that whoever did it couldn't tie knots very well. I wiggled a bit and eventually, my arms were free. I stood up and waited until my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The room was very empty. There were chairs and a table in the corner of the room. I looked at the walls and saw a light switch. I switched the lights on. The room was just as bare as I first thought it was, there was nothing on the walls and the only thing in it was the chairs and the table. I went and sat down at the table. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this, there were no windows and the only door was locked and likely had people guarding it.

I sat there for about an hour and a half before I heard the door unlock. I sat up straight and was on high alert.

Maria, Nettie, Lucy and a man and a woman came down the stairs. I assumed the man and women were James and Victoria Bennett. I crossed my arms on top of the table.

Maria sat down, Victoria and James on either side and Nettie and Lucy on either side of them. No one said anything for a minute and I think Maria was trying to intimidate me. It didn't work.

"I've just spoken to Peter." Maria started, I didn't say anything. "Just as stubborn as always."

I really tried not to talk, but I hoped she didn't mean what I thought she did.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"So now you're talking?" It was Victoria who spoke. I rolled my eyes and glared at her.

"What do you mean 'stubborn as always'?"

"He wouldn't answer my questions. I had to… make him talk."

I fucking knew it. I knew what that meant. She had put him in a stress position. She had hung Pete up by his arms and lifted him so his toes just grazed the ground and left him there. It was an agonising position. I knew Maria would give him very little food. He would be weak. The worst part is, I knew Pete wouldn't talk, no matter what.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming, breath. She was trying to anger me. I couldn't let her. When I opened my eyes, she was smirking at me.

"I'll ask you the same questions."

I had to answer them. I had a baby to think about.

"Where is Jasper?"

"At the house."

"Where is Jasper?"

"The house."

"No, he isn't. Tell me where he is."

"If he isn't at the house, then I don't know where he is."

She sighed. "James."

James stood up. He towered over me. He came around the table and grabbed my arm and hauled me up. He pushed me against the wall and started to choke me.

"Where. Is. Jasper?" He punctuated each word by squeezing just a little bit harder.

"I already told you," I managed to choke out. He continued to choke me. My vision started to go blurry and I started seeing black spots.

"James," Maria said. He dropped me.

I crumpled to the floor and was gasping, holding my throat.

"Well, I can see you'll be no use." They all stood up and walked out.

* * *

**Maria POV**

"For fuck's sake, Maria!" James was shouting when we left the basement. "You should have let me kill her!"

I rolled my eyes. "We can't kill her."

"Why not?" He was challenging me.

"Because I said so." I snapped at him. "Now, let's go check on Peter."

Nettie, Lucy and Victoria stayed behind. James didn't say anything else and we walked to the other end of the house, to where we were keeping Peter.

"Unlock the door," I told George. He unlocked it and pushed it open. He followed us in.

Peter's head snapped up when he saw the door open.

"Why the fuck are you here?" He looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"I'm the one that will be asking the questions." I nodded to George and he punched Peter in the stomach.

"Well, ask away then," Peter said.

"Where is Jasper?"

"He's not a dog. I don't know."

I nodded at George again. He backhanded him across the face.

Peter chuckled.

"What?" I snapped.

"You really are desperate to find Jas."

I had it. I strode up to Peter and kicked him in the balls. He groaned.

"George." George pulled the rope up higher. Now he wasn't touching the ground at all.

"I'll get answers soon enough." I motioned and we all walked out. George locked the door.

"Maria?"

"Yes?"

"What do I feed him?"

I smirked. "Nothing."

I then went to see Peter's parents. I knew that they wouldn't have any useful information so I didn't ask any questions about Jasper.

"Why were Peter and Charlotte visiting you?" I asked them. They were kept together.

"Just for a visit," Chester told me.

"Now, now, Chester, we both know that isn't the truth."

"Yes, it is. Peter came over because, as you know, it is his birthday soon and he won't be able to come over and celebrate it with us. So he came over today so we could talk and catch up."

That did sound plausible. Peter always visited his parents around his birthday.

"Next question. Where is Tabitha?"

"We wouldn't know. We haven't spoken to Jasper since he decided to marry you."

That again sounded plausible. James and I left. It was going to be hard to get information from anyone. However, that didn't mean we wouldn't.

* * *

**Char POV**

It was morning, or at least I thought it was. I went to sleep after my food was brought. Well, if you could call it 'food'. It was literally just bread and butter, with a glass of water. A man came back down to get the plate in the morning.

"What time is it?" I asked. I knew that I shouldn't but I really needed to know.

"7:30 am. I brought you your food at 10 pm." I nodded.

"I need to use the toilet," I told him. He seemed friendly enough, he wasn't wearing a mask.

"There is a secret toilet through here." He walked under the stairs. There was a toilet tucked away under. "It has running water, you can use it."

"OK, thank you…." I paused waiting for his name.

"Diego. I will sneak you some more food, I know that you are hungry."

"Thank you, Diego." I know that I should question him but I didn't feel the need to. He looked very honest and he was showing me sympathy.

He nodded and walked out. I was glad that I had someone on my side.

It was another hour before Diego came back in. He had an orange and a sandwich in a plastic bag.

"I gave Peter some food as well. He told me to tell you that he loves you and is OK and to not worry about him. I loosened his ropes for a few minutes when I went in. Can't speak long. I don't know when I will next see you. Goodbye."

I thanked him and then cried. I was so relieved that we had someone on our side and that Peter and I were getting some food. I hoped that this meant that Peter's parents were also getting some extras. I stopped crying and then ate the sandwich. It was chicken mayonnaise so it was very filling. I also ate the orange. I put the peel back into the plastic bag then put the plastic bag behind the toilet. This was so nobody discovered I was getting extra food and kill Diego. I stopped crying, Maria could come in at any time and I couldn't appear weak.

I splashed my face with water and I sat back down in the chair. All I could do was wait.

It was another 2 hours before Maria came down. It was just her, Diego and James. I didn't look at Diego though, they couldn't know that I had talked to him. Maria and James sat down while Diego stood behind them with his arms crossed. He slightly nodded at me.

"So, Charlotte. Where is my baby?"

"She was never your baby."

"She _is_ my baby." She spat.

"You decided that she wasn't yours when you hit her for the first time." I spat back.

She stood up and slapped me across the face. "What? Is the truth too much for you?" I was taunting her, I knew I shouldn't but it was too easy not too.

"Diego." Diego walked around and slapped me across the face. I could tell it was lighter than he could have made it.

"For the last time, where is Tabitha?"

"She is probably with Jasper." Maria nodded at Diego. He hauled me up from my seat and kicked the back of my knees. I crumpled to the floor.

Maria comes back in, asks about Tabitha this time. Refuses to answer and gets slapped across the face and is bleeding. Back to Maria POV and see a bit of what she is planning.

"Where is Tabitha?!" Maria shouted.

"I don't fucking know!" I shouted back. James walked up to me with a rag. I was punching him and trying to resist. He was trying to put it over my mouth. He punched me across the face. The rag was lifted to my face and the last thing I remember was James laughing at me.

I woke up with a start. My shoulders were killing me and my vision was blurry. I blinked a few times before my vision became clear again. James was smirking at me. I looked around and saw Peter. He was hanging up like I suspected he would be. I then noticed why my shoulders were so sore, I was also hanging up.

Peter's eyes were closed. I assumed they gave him the same stuff they gave me. James made sure I was looking at him when he went up and punched Peter in the stomach. His eyes snapped open. He looked around the room and he saw me. He didn't say anything, he looked back at James and said,

"The fuck was that for?"

James sneered at him, "To wake you up." He took a step back so he was in between Peter and I.

"Now that you are awake. I need you to give me some fucking answers. Where is Jasper?"

"I have already told you. We don't fucking know," Pete said, rolling his eyes.

"Really, well, you see, I don't believe that." He took a step towards me.

"You see, I know why you were visiting your parents." He walked towards me. I tried to move away from him but I couldn't.

He pulled up my t-shirt, showing my stomach. It was clear that I was pregnant.

Peter started to struggle, flailing his arms and legs. "YOU GET OFF OF HER! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU SICK FUCK?!"

James ignored him. "It would be such a shame if you were to lose the baby. Especially after you just told everyone." He was walking around me. I hated to admit that I was _very_ scared. I tried to struggle out of the knots but it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to.

He took a step back and walked over to a table that was behind me, just out of view. I couldn't see what he was picking up but Peter did. His eyes met mine and I could see something in them that I had never seen before, fear.

* * *

**Peter POV**

Charlotte couldn't see what I could see. James had picked up an 8-inch knife and was walking up to Charlotte. He walked in front of her and she started to struggle. She was talking to him, telling him that she would tell him anything he wanted.

I was trying to loosen the knots on my wrists. Diego had come in with breakfast and undid the knots and let me sit down. When he put me back up, he didn't put me up as high and he made sure the knots were loose. They were tight enough to lift me up, but they were loose enough that I could get out.

I was free.

I fell to the ground and James snapped his head over to me. The knife was just inches from Char's stomach. I was absolutely sickened, how could someone think about doing something like that.

"How the fuck…?" James looked puzzled. He forgot Char for a moment and walked towards me. I stood up and glared at him. He dropped the knife.

"Let's settle this." He punched me in the face.

I reacted immediately, punching him in the stomach and kicking his knees. He fell to the ground but he quickly grabbed my ankles and yanked me down so I was also on the floor. He grabbed the knife and he tried to stand up. I had already stood up and I kicked his head, it hit the floor and I saw some blood. He tried to stab my leg but I jumped back. He was trying to get up but I kicked him across the face again. Somehow, he managed to stand up again. He was trying to stab me, he lightly cut my cheek. James suddenly remembered Char when she screamed when she saw my face, there was blood running down the side of my cheek. It stung like a bitch. He turned around and lunged towards Char. I shouted, running after him.

"NO, PETER!" At first, I didn't know why Char was screaming. He had turned towards me and was nowhere near her we were behind her, beside the table. I was very puzzled.

Until I looked down.

I had been stabbed. The knife was sticking out from my stomach. I gently touched the area around it and looked at my blood-covered hands. I stumbled back and only then did I register the pain. The knife was still lodged in my stomach. James looked as shocked as I felt. With a final rush of adrenaline, I grabbed another knife from the table and ran towards James, plunging it in his neck.

James took a few steps back until his back hit the wall then collapsed to the floor. I didn't stay up for very long after him, I don't know how, but I managed to undo Char's ropes and then I fell to the floor.

My head on Char's legs. She was crying, tears were falling on my face. The pain was unbearable. I wanted to close my eyes but I forced them open. I was scared that this would be the last time I would ever see my angel.

"Shh, sugar. Don't worry." I tried to left my hand to her face but it was too painful.

"Peter, please don't leave me. I can't do it without you. Come on Peter. You're going to be ok. I love you."

She kissed me, tears streaming down from eyes, I could taste the salty water of them. I heard the door open, faintly. It was like I was hearing everything from underwater.

"I love you, Charlotte."

The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was the basement door opening.


	9. Life & Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts at 10 am on the 1st of August. This is around the same time Char and Peter get in the taxi to get to Peters parent's house.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Where there's life there's hope." ― **J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again**

* * *

**BPOV (10 am)**

I had been awake for around 2 hours. I had met Kate, Irina, Tanya, Rose and Ali for breakfast. We were talking about Peter and Char. I was really happy that Tabitha would have a friend close to her age.

Speaking of Tabitha, she is currently sleeping on Jasper's chest while we are watching a movie. It's just us, Garrett, Kate, Rose, Edward, Emmett and Ali. We are watching Guardians of the Galaxy. It was around 11 am when I got a text from Char. I was shocked when Char said that they had told Jasper's parents that I was like a mother to Tabitha. Jasper was also texting, I assumed he was texting Peter.

Jasper texted me.

**Jasper: Is that OK with you?**

**Me: Yes. I would love to meet your parents.**

**Jasper: OK, let's speak more about this later.**

I put my phone away and grabbed Jasper's hand. The movie finished at 11:20 am. We talked about the movie for a few minutes. Jasper and I left and went to our room to talk about his parents.

We sat down on the bed and I took Tabitha.

"I know I already asked but are you sure that it's ok with you?" Jasper asked me nervously.

"Yes, I would love to meet your parents. It will be the first time you have seen them in years and they will meet Tabitha, I would love to go with you. The real question is, are you ready to see them again?"

"I think I am. I have been missing them. I am a mommas boy and I know that she has been missing me. I am ready to show them that I have matured and realised that they were right about Maria."

Tabitha started to cry.

"Shh, shh, Tabby." I kissed her on the cheek. I knew she wasn't hungry because Jasper had fed her half an hour ago. She eventually started to quieten.

"Peter and Char are right."

"About what?"

"You are like a mother to her. Maria couldn't get her quite like you can."

I blushed. It was then I heard shouting. I looked at Jas and we both stood up and opened the door. It was Emmett.

"Wha-?" I started to question before Em cut me off.

"You need to get to the meeting room, Alistair has found something." I looked at Jasper and he looked worried. We ran with Emmett to the meeting room.

Everyone was here, even Carlisle, Esme, dad and mom.

"What is it, Al?" Jasper questioned.

"So, as you know, I have been tracking Maria. I have just gotten this record of a phone call between her and someone unknown."

He played the audio.

**Maria: Are you there yet?**

**Unknown: Nearly. What do we do when we get there?**

**Maria: -sigh- I've already told you. You get to the house. Peter and Charlotte should be there with Chester and Darlene. Diego will pick the lock and then you burst into the living room. You tell everyone to get down and then you and Joham put hoods on everyone and tie their hands. Take their phones. Joham and Diego take Charlotte and you and James take Peter to the car. Victoria and Nettie will take Darlene and Chester, they will put up less of a fight. Peter will put up the biggest fight and I don't know about Charlotte.**

**Unknown: OK we are there.**

**Maria: Text me when you have them in the car.**

"FUCK!" Jasper shouted. "What are we going to do?"

"You can use the private jet," Carlisle said.

"OK. Do we know where Maria is taking them?"

"There are 2 possible places. Either her place in Monterrey or her place in San Antonio. They are probably being taken to San Antonio. Monterrey is too far away, a seven-hour drive. San Antonio is only a 3-hour drive."

"Carlisle, how long until the private jet is ready?"

"I can get it ready for 2 hours."

"OK, get it ready now."

Carlisle nodded and left to sort that out.

"OK, so I wan-" Jasper was cut off by Alistair's phone ringing.

"It's Pete." He answered and put it on speakerphone.

"Hey, Al. I just wanted to ask, is anything strange going on? Char got a phone call from an unknown number and all it said was 'Charlotte Whitlock'. She is really unnerved."

"Yeah, actually Peter. You need to get the fuck of the house. Maria has sent someone over to get you, Char and your parents."

"That isn't poss—" Peter stopped talking. In the background, we could hear the door swing open and someone shout 'get down'.

"Peter?" Alistair asked.

There was a response from someone that wasn't Peter, "They will all be dead by tomorrow." Then the call disconnected.

Carlisle slipped back in quietly and sat down.

"What the fuck!" Jasper stood up and started pacing. "This is the plan, everyone listen. Only pack a phone charger, we can buy anything else we need. Edward, Emmett, Bella, Carlisle, Alistair, Garrett, Felix, Rose and Alice, you are coming. Rose and Carlisle, you are coming because you have medical training, Carlisle take your medical bag. Alice, Bella, you are coming for Char, she will need her best friends. Everyone go!"

Everyone got up and got everything they needed. The people who weren't going said goodbye and left. It was just me and Jasper.

"What about Tabitha?"

"We can't bring her with us. We should leave her with Esme and Renee." I nodded.

"Jasper are you ok?"

He looked at me. I could see the tears forming in the depths of his grey eyes. "No."

I walked up to him and hugged him. "This will be the first day since I held her in the car that I have left her."

Jasper smiled. "We won't be long. We go, get Peter and Char and my parents before Maria does anything and then we come home."

"I hope it's as easy as you say."

* * *

**JPOV**

We have just got on the jet. Bella cried when she left Tabitha. She was reluctant to let her go. She is sleeping with her head on my shoulder. The flight was going to be long, 5 hours.

I was really trying to sleep but I just couldn't. I can't believe Maria has Pete and Char AND my parents. I really hope no harm comes to them, especially not Char. I know how sadistic Maria can be and she would try and kill or hurt their baby. I don't think I would be able to handle that, knowing it's my fault.

Bella was holding my hand. I rubbed circles on the back of her hand with my thumb. I am glad that she is with me. She keeps me grounded. She had taken just her charger and her Harry Potter book in a backpack.

She started to wake up. I stroked her hair down.

"I can't sleep," She groggily said.

"You can read your book instead," I suggested.

"I nearly forgot about that!" She happily exclaimed, rummaging around the bag. She pulled it out. "I'm nearly finished, I'm on chapter 11." She told me and then started to read. I sighed and tried to sleep.

We got off of the jet. We walked into a McDonalds. I checked the clock, it was 9:30 pm.

"We need to sleep and get to Maria early tomorrow morning," Garrett stated. I started to protest, saying we needed to get to Peter as soon as we could but I was silenced by Bella putting her hand on my arm.

"Garrett's right. We can't do this when we are all tired, we need to have full energy."

I couldn't argue, I knew that she was right. I nodded and acquiesced.

We all checked in at a hotel. It was 11 pm when Bella and I got into our room. Bella went for a shower and I switched on the TV. There wasn't anything on. Bella came back out with her wet hair in a ponytail. She crawled under the covers and cuddled me. I switched off the TV and the bedside light.

"I'm sorry Jasper," Bella whispered.

"It's not your fault darlin'."

"I know. I'm just scared."

"So am I darlin'." There was silence for a minute.

"It feels so strange without Tabby." I had noticed that too.

"This is the first night I have been without her," I told Bella.

She yawned. "Go to sleep darlin'." She kissed me goodnight. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quickly.

* * *

**Bella POV (9 am)**

We are all sitting in McDonald's eating breakfast. We had all gone into Alistair's room so he could brief us about everything. He had told us that it would take us 30 minutes to get to Maria's place. The only people that would be there is; Maria, Nettie, Lucy, Victoria, James and a maximum of 3 guards. We had decided that we would sneak in the back door. We take down everyone and then we go check all the basement areas. Peter and Char would probably be kept in separate basements while Jasper's parents would be kept together. There was also a chance that we would find Leah and Seth Clearwater, another pair of hostages.

I was very nervous about everything. Garrett, Felix, Edward, Alistair and Emmett would go in first and then Jasper and I would follow, then Rose, Carlisle and Ali. We were going to get a taxi to the house. It was very risky and dangerous but we need to get Peter, Charlotte and Jas' parents out.

We left McDonald's and got in 2 different Taxis. The taxis dropped us off and we all snuck around the back of the house. There were lots of shrubs that we all hid in. Garrett, Felix, Alistair, Jasper, Edward and Emmett all had guns. I didn't know how they got them here but I didn't question it. They snuck forward and Felix kicked open the door and shouted,

"GET DOWN!"

We could hear shouting. They had all gone in. Jasper and I waited a few minutes before we walked in. Jasper had a gun just in case. We didn't waste any time. There were lots of long halls. At the end of one, there was a door that had a lock on it. Jasper shot the lock and we ran down the stairs.

It was Jasper's parents. They looked fine, they were staring wide-eyed at us. It was then I remembered that Jasper hasn't seen his parents in _years_.

I asked the most important question because we needed to check the other doors.

"Are either of you hurt?"

"No, we are fine." Jasper's dad, Chester replied.

"You need to stay here. More people will be down in a minute to help you, we need to find Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper was just staring at his parents. I know that he hasn't seen them but we need to move on. I grabbed his hand and interlocked our fingers.

"Jas, we need to find Peter and Char, they could be hurt."

This seemed to snap him out of it. He let me guide him to the top of the stairs. We didn't say anything, just started running down the next corridor. The next door was also locked, Jasper again shot the lock off. We ran down the stairs.

At the bottom, hanging up by their wrist was a man and a woman. They looked weak, they didn't even look up at us. Jasper whispered in my ear,

"These must be Leah and Seth."

Jasper cautiously walked up to them. There were 2 hooks holding the ropes. I went to the first one that held Leah and loosened it. I did the same with Seth's.

They both crumpled to the ground.

"Leah, Seth, I don't know if you can hear us but help is here. Don't worry."

We quickly left, Rose would check them over.

The next 2 rooms were empty. The last door didn't have a lock on and it was open ajar. We could hear crying. Quickly, we ran down the stairs.

I froze. Charlotte had Peter's head in her lap and she had blood all over her hands. James Bennett was slumped over in the corner with a knife embedded in his neck. There was a man with Charlotte asking what happened and, most worryingly, Peter had a knife in his stomach.

"What happened?" Jasper whispered. Char's head snapped towards and her eyes went wide. Jasper went over to her.

"I'm going to get Carlisle," I said and ran up the stairs. I ran down the corridors and went back down to the basement with Leah and Seth. Like I suspected they would be, Carlisle and Rose were there.

"Carlisle, Rose, Peter has been stabbed!" They immediately stood up. They were kneeling, checking over Leah and Seth.

"Where?" Carlisle asked calmly, picking up his medical bag.

"Follow me." I ran to the basement and they followed me.

When we got to the bottom, Carlisle immediately went into doctor mode.

"How long ago was he stabbed?"

"5 minutes." The man with Char said.

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"2 ish minutes."

"There is a pulse, it's weak but it's there. Has anyone called an ambulance?"

"No."

He continued asking questions. I left, I needed to tell the others about Peter.

I jogged down the corridors until I got to the living room. All of Maria's people were there, they were on their knees with guns pointed at their heads.

"Peter has been stabbed," I blurted out. Maria started cackling maniacally

"And James is dead." That stopped her laughing. Victoria started screaming. She got off of her knees and tried to wrestle the gun out of Emmett's hands. Felix stopped her by tasing her.

"Where the fuck did you get a taser from?" I asked him.

"You never know when you will need one."

Jasper came in just then. He had blood on his hands and he told us, "Since he is in such bad condition, he is getting airlifted. Carlisle is getting some of his friends to take him, they won't ask any questions."

"Maria, you couldn't even kill Peter, you really are pathetic," Nettie said angrily, Lucy nodded, agreeing. Maria lost it then. She stood up, grabbing the gun from Garrett and shot Nettie in the head and Lucy in the chest. No one moved except Felix, he tased Maria.

"Jasper, what do you want us to do with everyone?"

"Tie Victoria and Maria up here." Felix and Emmett nodded and picked them up then walked out with them.

"Who are you?" Jasper asked the first man.

"Why the fuck do you want to know?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Just answer the fucking question."

"I'm George."

"OK, who are you?" Jasper asked the other man.

"Who are you?" He countered.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock, now answer the question."

He ignored Jasper, "Who is this?" He licked his lips and gestured at me.

"None of your fucking business," I said.

Jasper smirked at him.

"I'd fuck her," The man stated. I looked over at Jasper. He tensed and walked towards him, he kicked him over and stood on his throat.

"What. Is. Your. Name?" He increased the pressure on the man's throat with each word.

"Joham," He gasped out. Jasper took his foot off Joham's throat.

He started to question them and we heard the front door open.

"I'll show them to Pete." I walked to the front door.

"Where is Peter Whitlock?" The man asked.

"Follow me." I guided them to Peter. Charlotte and Carlisle are going with Peter. I hugged Char and told her that Jasper and I would be there soon. I watched Peter get loaded onto the helicopter.

Rose and the other guy, Diego, came with me to the living room.

"Where is Ali?" Rose asked Edward.

"She is checking on Leah and Seth." Rose left to see Ali.

"This is Diego, he helped Char and Peter," I introduced Diego to everyone.

"You fucking traitor!" Joham spat.

"I'm no traitor, I was never on your side." Diego spat back.

"Jas, are you gonna kill them already?" I asked him.

"Yep, we've got all the information we need from them." Joham and George started struggling and protesting.

"Garrett, Demetri." There was the sound of 2 gunshots and then silence.

"Alistair, can you dispose of all the bodies? There are a total of 5 you need to get rid of," Jasper asked.

"I can do that, I'll just need Garrett to help." Jasper nodded and they walked out to get bin bags and James' body.

Jasper left, saying that he needed to wash his hands. That left me, Edward and Diego,

"I'm going to check on Ali, will you be OK, Bella?" He asked, gesturing towards Diego. I nodded and he left.

"Why did you help them?" I asked Diego.

"Because I hope someone would have done the same for me." I nodded.

Jasper came back in. He hugged me and kissed me. Diego excused himself.

"What are you going to do with Maria and Victoria?" I asked Jasper, he sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"I will have to kill them, if they have done this once, they'll do it again."

"We. You're not alone, I will help you however you want me to."

"How did I find someone as perfect as you?" He asked, kissing me on the forehead.

"I could ask the same thing about you. Now come on, let's do this." I interlocked our fingers and we walked to Maria and Victoria.

* * *

**JPOV**

We walked down into the basement where Victoria and Maria were being kept. They were strung up like how Leah and Seth were. Felix and Emmett were there, waiting.

"You can go," I told them and they both walked out before assuring us that they wouldn't be able to get out.

I stood up straighter, Maria and Victoria had started to rouse. Victoria woke up first,

"I WILL KILL YOU BOTH, YOU KILLED MY JAMES!" She was shrieking, trying to free her arms.

Maria woke up next, because of the noise. "Shut the fuck up!" She shouted.

She saw us then. Her eyes were glued to our interlocked fingers.

"What the fuck?!" She asked angrily.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I can't believe you've been fucking that _puta_!"

Bella let go of my hand and walked up to Maria and slapped her across the face.

"You're the only bitch here."

She slapped her across the face again and kicked her in the stomach. I let her, I knew that she was angry.

"How dare you, call me a bitch! You'll never hurt my family again after today!"

Maria scoffed, "Your _family_? They aren't your _family._ What makes them your family?"

"They are my family; Tabitha is my daughter, Jasper is my boyfriend, Peter is my brother and Char is my sister. They love me and I love them. That's more than you could ever say." She was shouting by the end.

I was shocked. She just admitted that she loved me. She was right though, we all loved her. No one, apart from me, loved Maria. Even then, I didn't _really_ love her.

Maria spluttered, "Jasper, you're really going to let her speak to me like that?!"

I chuckled darkly. I walked up to Bella and put my arm around her waist, pulling her close to me. "Yes, I am going to let her talk to you like that. Fuck you."

Victoria was sobbing and Maria was speechless.

I let go of Bella and grabbed my gun. Bella nodded at me. I first shot Victoria, there was no point in extending her misery.

I lifted the gun to Maria's head. "No one will ever love you, I never did." She spat on my face and I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

* * *

**BPOV**

It had been five minutes since Jasper killed Maria. He hasn't moved, his arm is still holding the gun up and he is just staring blankly at Maria. I've given him time but we need to go see Peter. I walked in front of him and put my hand on his arm. I pried the gun from his hand.

"Jasper, baby, look at me," He slowly looked down at me, "Are you alright?"

"I think I am. I didn't think I would be, but I am."

"Jas, we need to go see Pete. We also need to decide what we are going to do with Leah and Seth and your parents."

"I really don't know what we are going to do."

"I'll handle it, come on."

Alistair was outside, smoking.

"Al, can you dispose of Maria and Victoria's bodies. Empty the pockets." Al nodded and got to it, he said that he could do it by himself.

I walked back inside, "Felix, Edward, take Leah and Seth to the estate, give them a room. Tell my dad, mom and Esme to look after them."

"OK bels, we will. What do you want us to do after? Come back down here or stay and wait for you?"

"It depends, I'll text you about Peter's condition. He might be taken to the Seattle hospital."

We said goodbyes and they went to get Leah and Seth.

I texted Rose.

**Me: Where are you?**

**Rose: Kitchen.**

We walked into the kitchen, Jasper was still not really with it. Emmett, Ali and Rose were here.

"Where's Garrett?"

"With Jasper's parents," Emmett told me. I nodded and went to the basement where they were being kept.

We heard the tail end of the conversation,

"So, you're going to come and see Peter and talk to Bella and Jasper?" Garrett asked.

"Yes, that's what's gonna happen." Jasper's dad replied.

We walked down the stairs. I was holding Jasper's hand,

"We are all going to leave now, you coming Gar?"

Garrett stood up, "Yeah, Izzy, I'm coming."

I nodded and Darlene and Chester also stood up,

"We are also coming."

I let go of Jasper's hand and walked up to them. I stuck my hand out,

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Whitlock, Mr Whitlock. I'm Isabella Swan, though I prefer to go by Bella." They seemed shocked that I shook their hands and introduced myself.

"Nice to meet you, Bella," They both said. I went back to holding Jasper's hand.

"OK, I'll go tell everyone to get ready." They nodded and we all left.

Ali, Rose, Garrett, Emmett, Alistair, Chester, Darlene, Char, Jasper and I are in the hospital waiting room. We had left the house unlocked, we are going to go back and check everything later in the week.

Peter is currently in surgery. Char is sleeping on Garrett's shoulder. Darlene and Chester are speaking in hushed tones. I can tell from the glances they are giving Jasper and me, that it is about us. I am sitting next to them with my head on his other shoulder, he is stroking my hair. Rose and Ali left to get something for us all to eat. Emmett has his head in his hands and Alistair is texting, updating everyone about what is happening.

Rose and Ali came back with some salads, sandwiches and water. I didn't feel like eating but I ate a sandwich. Jasper hadn't even attempted to eat his sandwich.

"Baby, you need to eat," I told him sternly.

"I'm not hungry, darlin'," He tried to reassure me.

"Do I have to feed you like I feed Tabby?" That got a smile out of him. "Well?"

He started eating the sandwich, "That's better." I looked away from Jasper's face and saw Darlene and Chester staring at me. I just ignored them, if they had something they wanted to say, they could wait until we all got out of this hospital.

It was 6 pm when Carlisle came out.

Everyone stood up.

"How is he, Carlisle?" Char asked. I held my breath.

"He will be OK. He is awake, he will have to stay here for a fortnight but he can be taken back home after that."

"Can we see him?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, but only a few people at a time."

Jasper, Char, Darlene, Chester and I went in first. Peter had an IV and looked tired but apart from that, he looked normal.

Char ran up and kissed him. Jasper hugged him and so did I. Darlene and Chester also hugged him.

"I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner," Jasper said, you could see the tears in his eyes.

"Fuck off, Jas. You got there as soon as you could, you have nothing to be sorry about, I'm fine, " Peter scolded him lightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright Pete," I said, squeezing his hand.

"So am I, Bels." I laughed with him.

Darlene and Chester were talking to him, I stepped back and put my head on Jasper's shoulder. We were leaving to let the others in,

"You comin' darlin'?" Jasper asked me.

"Go on without me, I'm just going to talk to peter for a minute," I told him and he kissed me on the cheek and left.

Now it was just me, Char and Peter.

"Jasper killed Maria," I told them. They both looked shocked, "That's why he's been so out of it. He didn't move for 5 minutes. I'm really worried about him."

"I didn't think he would do that," Char said. Peter nodded, agreeing, "Give him a few days, he probably didn't think he could do it."

I nodded, thanked them and told them we would be back tomorrow and left.

We said goodbye to everyone and checked into a hotel close to the hotel. I was really missing Tabitha. I decided to facetime her, hopefully seeing her would help Jasper.

"I'm going to facetime Tabby," I told Jasper.

"That sounds like a great idea, I really miss her," Jasper said.

I called my mom and updated her about Peter and the whole situation. She showed us Tabby. I was sitting beside Jasper and I scooted closer to him and we saw Tabby. She was in dad's arms. She was awake and she saw us.

"Hi Tabby," I waved and so did Jasper. She started giggling and touching the screen. We watched Tabitha for a while until she fell asleep. We said our goodbyes and I got ready for bed. I kissed Jasper on the cheek and snuggled into his arms, he still seemed distant.

I hoped Peter was right and he would be OK in a few days. I guess I would just have to wait and see.


	10. A Day Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump! It is now the 8th of November. This is 3 months and a few days after Peter was stabbed and all the other shit went down.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"If you love someone, you say it, right then, out loud. Otherwise, the moment just passes you by." **— Julia Roberts**

* * *

**BPOV**

A lot has happened since Maria was killed and Peter was stabbed. Firstly, Peter has made a full recovery and is doing fine. Secondly, there have been lots of birthdays, 8 to be exact; Kate, Peter, Afton, Chelsea, me, Irina, Tanya and Heidi. Thirdly, Jasper is back to normal, he got better when we went home and everything went back to normal and he saw Peter healthy again. He had a talk with me about Maria and his feelings surrounding her.

Furthermore, Chelsea and Afton left. They said that they wanted to move to Chelsea's home country, Greece. We threw a huge leaving party 2 days ago. They said that, in a pinch, we could call them and they would come but apart from that, they wouldn't be part of the business.

Finally, Diego came and he swore in as a member of CSW. Seth and Leah went back to their mother, Sue Clearwater. She thanked us profusely and told us that we could call for backup anytime. She also told us all about what happened to Harry. He was behind on payments for alcohol and Billy Black killed him. He knew where they lived and went after them but Sue and her children had already moved.

Today, Tabitha is 6 months old. I think of her as my daughter and so does everyone else. She is in her seat while I make chocolate chip cookies, we are listening to music and I am dancing around.

Santiago, Heidi, Tanya, Irina, Toshiro, Randall, Laurent, Demetri and Felix are all taking a vacation. Since there haven't been any major incidents in the last 2 months, we decided it was safe. Demetri and Heidi are in Germany, that is where their wedding is going to be. Santiago, Toshiro and Randall are in California. Laurent and Irina are in France, visiting Laurents family. Tanya and Felix are in Slovakia.

Jasper is out shopping and Peter and Charlotte went with him. Em, Ed, Rose and Ali are visiting the parents. Garrett and Kate went to the beach because the weather is nice, which doesn't happen often. Gar and Kate are now a couple and they are perfect. Kate confessed to me the other day that she things Gar is the one. So it's just Alistair, Riley, Diego, me and Tabitha.

That is something else that has happened in the last 3 months, Alistair and Riley are now a couple. They said that it wasn't a big deal and they told us so they could openly be together and none of us would question it. They do make a great couple. They are both quiet and reserved but they are great together.

Chester and Darlene went home when they saw Peter was better. Jasper and I have told them we will visit around the start of December.

I was listening to music and the song that came on was; She Moves In Her Own Way by The Kooks, I started singing along,

"So now you pour your heart out

You're telling me you're far out

Not about to lie down for your cause

But you don't pull my strings

Cause I'm a better man

Moving on to better things

Well, uh-oh, oh, I love her because

She moves in her own way

Well, uh-oh, oh, she came to my show

Just to hear about my day

And at the show on Tuesday

She was in her mindset

Tempered furs and spangled boots

Looks are deceiving

Make me believe it

And these tiresome paper dreams

Paper dreams honey, yeah"

Tabby was babbling along with me. I put the cookies in the oven and set a timer. I made enough cookies for everyone. I started cleaning all the dishes. Diego walked into the kitchen,

"Hey, Bella," He greeted.

"Hey, Diego." He walked over to Tabitha and tickled her under the chin.

I took the cookies out of the oven. I waited until they cooled down slightly and put two on a plate.

"You can help yourself to one," I told Diego as I walked out of the kitchen.

I walked into the living room where Alistair and Riley where sitting, holding hands.

"I brought you both cookies," I said as I put them own on the coffee table in front of them.

"Thanks, Bella," Riley thanked me as he reached for the plate and passed one to Alistair. I walked back into the kitchen. Diego was putting all the cookies on a plate. He took one and walked into the sitting room. I decided that since it was a good day, I would take Tabitha outside, into the garden.

I grabbed a picnic blanket and set it up outside. I walked back in and took Tabitha out and placed her on the blanket. She can lift her head up and can sit up. I played peek-a-boo with her.

We stayed outside for another half an hour before we went back in. I was sitting on the couch when Garrett and Kate came back. They were both laughing. They came and sat down on the couch beside me and Tabby.

"I'm starved, what's for lunch?" Garrett asked. I checked the time, it was noon.

"Sandwiches," I replied.

"I'll help you make them," Kate said, standing up. I passed Tabitha to Garrett and he put her on his knee.

We went into the kitchen and Kate closed the door behind us.

"Oh my god, Bella, guess what Garrett told me!"

"What?" I asked curiously.

"He told me that he loved me!"

"Really? Did you say it back?"

"Of course! I'm so happy. I know it has only been a few months but when you know, you know," Kate told me excitedly.

We started making the sandwiches and continued talking about her and Garrett. We finished the sandwiches and put them in the dining room.

I went and told Alistair, Riley, Diego and Garrett that they were ready. Just as I sat down, Char, Pete and Jas came in with bags of shopping. They put the bags in the kitchen and came and sat down. Jasper kissed me on the cheek and took the seat beside me. We all talked through lunch.

"Jasper and I were washing and putting away all the dishes while Peter and Char were putting away all the groceries.

"Garrett told Kate he loved her," I told them.

"Finally!" Peter exclaimed, "Gar has wanted to tell her for ages."

"What did Kate do?" Char asked.

"She said it back, she is really happy and thinks he is the one."

We kept on talking about Kate and Garrett until we had finished.

"Bella, do you want to go on a family walk, just us and Tabitha?" Jasper asked me. It felt nice when he called us a family. I loved when he said that.

"Of course, let me get the stroller." I got Tabitha and stroller. I put the stroller and diaper bag in the car and put Tabby in her car seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked Jasper as he started driving.

"Just to the park," Jasper responded. There was a comfortable silence until we got there. We parked and got out, Jasper put Tabitha in the stroller with the diaper bag.

The park wasn't too busy, there were a few people jogging and some old people sitting on benches.

"I can't believe she is already 6 months old," Jasper said.

"I know. It doesn't seem that long ago I was holding a 2-month-old baby." I agreed.

"If I didn't have her I think I would still be with Maria."

"Do you regret it? Your time with Maria, I mean," I asked him.

He was silent for a minute, contemplating. "Yes and no. If I wasn't with Maria I wouldn't have Tabitha or you. I don't know how I did it for so long, not having either of you. Yeah, I had Peter, Char, Garrett and everyone else but they aren't the same. If Maria was never in my life, I would've had a better relationship with my parents. Do I regret marrying Maria? In a way. Would I do it differently, given the chance? No. If I did it differently I might not have you or Tabitha and honestly, that scares me half to death." He sat down on an empty bench and I sat beside him.

"Bella, I love you."

"The tears stung my eyes. I felt the same way. I knew I loved Jasper and I had for a while.

"I love you too, Jasper." I leaned over and kissed him. The kiss started off slow but it quickly got more frantic and passionate. I pulled back, panting.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan." He rested his forehead against mine. I smiled, "I love you too, Jasper Andrew Whitlock."

* * *

**JPOV**

She loved me. She actually loved me. I didn't even know that I was going to say that. It just kind of came out. Bella took Tabby out of the stroller and passed her to me. She took out a container of carrot puree and a spoon. Tabitha was sitting on my knee and waving her arms around, babbling.

"Open up!" Tabitha opened her mouth and Bella put the spoon in.

Eventually, she finished feeding Tabitha and was wiping her chin clean. Tabitha started to fall asleep and Bella put her back in the stroller. We got off of the bench and started walking again. I was pushing the stroller this time. Bella was holding onto my arm.

"So, when are we going to be visiting your parents?"

"Well, I was thinking we could see them on the 5th and 6th of December. That is the first weekend of December, depending on how things go, we can invite them to celebrate Christmas with us. While we are in Texas, we can also do some Christmas shopping. Especially if we leave on the 30th of November and then we can shop and relax until we go see them at the weekend. We can bring Tabby with us as well," I told her. I had been thinking about this for a while.

"That sounds like a great idea. We can do most of our Christmas shopping then, get everyone some stuff." Bella agreed with me.

"I'll sort out the tickets and everything," I told her.

We walked out of the park and started walking around the town. We continued talking all the rest of the afternoon until it started to rain.

The rain started off very light but quickly became heavy. We were far away from the car. Neither of us had jackets. We ducked into a cafe. There was a booth that we sat in and Bella took Tabitha out of the stroller and put her on her knee.

"Do you want a bite to eat while we are here?" Bella asked me.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea, we can sit here until the rain stops."

The waitress came and asked us for our orders. I asked for tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and Bella ordered the same.

The food arrived and Bella took a bite of the sandwich and moaned saying,

"This is delicious." I agreed with her, it really was a great sandwich, the soup was also very nice.

I laughed, Bella had soup on her chin and Tabitha started reaching up to grab her sandwich.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You have soup on your chin." I leaned over to wipe it off.

Tabitha started crying and screaming, people started looking at us. The cafe was small and filled with young people and people around our age. Bella excused herself and walked into the bathroom.

When she came back out Tabitha was giggling. Bella passed her to me and I kissed her on her little nose.

A woman came up to us.

"Hey, sorry for interrupting, I just love babies! How old is she?"

Bella answered, "6 months today."

The woman reached over and patted Tabitha's head.

"She is gorgeous. Anyway, thank you, sorry for interrupting." The woman walked back to her table.

"That was odd. I feel like she knew something," Bella voiced her concern. I had to agree, it seemed very scripted. I told Bella as much

We finished eating and paid. The rain wasn't as heavy now. We left and briskly walked to the car.

Tabitha was dry though. I put the stroller in the back and Bella got in the passenger side. Bella took her out of her ponytail and was combing through it with her fingers.

I took Tabitha and put her on my knees while Bella did that. I was looking at Bella all the while. She was looking in the mirror in the sun visor.

"You look beautiful," I blurted out.

She smiled and thanked me. She left her hair down and took Tabitha from me so I could drive. We talked all the way back to the house.

When we got in, it was 8 pm. Everyone else had already eaten but Bella and I weren't hungry so it didn't matter. Bella did, however, get us both a cookie.

We went to our room and Bella decided to have a bath. I had shown her all the bath stuff I got from the old house a few weeks ago. She had thanked me profusely and she had been using all the stuff.

She ran the bath and put in some oil and bath salts.

"I'll just leave," I awkwardly excused myself. We hadn't had sex yet but I knew that we soon would, we didn't want to rush anything in our relationship and let it happen naturally.

I was playing with Tabitha when Bella came out with a dressing gown on and a towel on her hair.

"Do you want me to do your hair?"

"That would be great." I put Tabitha in her cot and walked over.

Bella sat in front of the vanity and I took a brush and slowly brushed all the knots out of her hair. After that I dried it, it took ages to dry because her hair was thick. Once I had done drying it I brushed it again.

"Thanks for that Jasper." Bella thanked me and then excused herself to get changed into her pyjamas.

I did the same, I didn't wear any pyjamas, just a pair of boxers. Bella was wearing penguin pyjamas.

Bella climbed into bed and we watched "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". Bella had read all the books and now we were watching the movies.

The movie finished and we went downstairs and microwaved some lasagna that Renee had made and delivered yesterday. After we ate we went back upstairs and brushed our teeth. It was 11 pm. We had put Tabitha to bed and we were lying down, facing each other.

"I can't believe you love me," I said.

"Bella reached out and put her hand on my chest, "How could I not? You're amazing Jas," She told me earnestly. She leaned in and kissed me. It was a light kiss but I could feel the love.

"I opened my arms to her and she put her head on my chest and yawned, "I love you Jas."

"I love you too darlin'." We went to sleep wrapped in each other's embrace.

* * *

**Nessie POV**

I ducked into a cafe because it was raining. I ordered a coffee because my hands were cold. I was just about to leave when a couple came in. The woman was pushing a stroller with a baby in and the man was behind, holding the door open. I recognised them almost instantly, Bella Swan and Jasper Whitlock. I quickly took out my phone and texted Jake.

**Me: I'm at a cafe and Bella and Jasper are here with the baby**

**Jake: Wait until they are about to leave and then ask how old the baby is.**

**Me: Why?**

**Jake: The plan.**

I put my phone back in my pocket and watched them surreptitiously. Obviously, they had become a couple. Bella was acting like a mother to the baby too. When Bella left I started thinking about what I was going to say. I had run through what I was going to say in my head before I walked over.

I sat back down and felt accomplished.

**Me: The baby is 6 months old; Bella is like a mother to her.**

I knew Jake wouldn't reply. Jasper and Bella left and I followed after them. I copied down the plates and texted them to Jake. I smirked, just a few more weeks and our plan would be carried out.


	11. Paul, Embry & Quil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot that Seth and Leah where Jake's hostages, not Maria's. From this point on let's just pretend that they were the Black's hostages but James and Victoria took them.
> 
> Also, Billy Black is not in a wheelchair.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"A man without friends is a man without power." — **Game Of Thrones**

* * *

**JPOV (10th November)**

Yesterday I told Peter and Garrett and the others that I told Bella I loved her. They were all very happy for me. Garrett told us about Kate and Emmett told us that he had bought an engagement ring. Edward told us that he had as well. Em said that he was going to propose on Christmas Eve and Ed was going to propose on New Year's Eve. They were both excited and I was very happy for them both.

Peter was complaining about Char being very grouchy all the time. They don't know the gender, they decided that they wanted it to be a surprise. We decided to put money on the gender. A girl has $55 while it being a boy has $70, everyone had to put down $5.

Today, I woke up at 8 am and Bella and I did some yoga outside because the weather was again nice.

Alistair called a meeting. The meeting room was empty because there was only me, Bella, Diego Peter, Char, Garrett, Kate, Em, Ed, Rose, Ali, Alistair and Riley.

"I have called this meeting because the Black's have been suspiciously silent. I have heard nothing between them. I believe they are laying down their plan. They haven't even interfered with any of our shipments or anything of the sort. I do however some info on Quil, Paul and Embry. Here are some texts."

We read the texts.

**Quil: Embry, Paul and I have packed our bags, we are leaving on the excuse of a weekend away but we will come to you.**

**Claire: OK I will be waiting. Stay safe, don't look back.**

Alistair continued, "I have tracked down where Claire Young lives, she lives in Tacoma WA. That means that Embry Paul and Quil have to travel 2 hours to get to Tacoma from Portland where the Black Pack are currently. I propose we go and speak to them tomorrow, we can get information about Jake out of them very easily. I am confident about that."

I stood up, "Pete, Ed, Em, Gar, Alistair, Riley, Diego and I will go. Is that ok with everybody?" Everyone nodded. "Anything else?"

No one had anything to add so the meeting was dismissed.

"How long will you be gone for?" Bella asked me. We were outside sitting in the sun.

"Not long, we will leave early and we should get back before dinner." Bella looked relieved that we wouldn't be gone long.

"Irina, Laurent, Randall, Santiago and Toshiro are going to be back tomorrow." Bella reminded me.

"I completely forgot about that."

"Lucky I'm here to remind you." I smiled, she added so much to my life, even little things like reminding me of things I forget.

"We need to give Tabby a bath," Bella told me, we got up and walked into our room.

We put in the baby dam and the seat and everything. I rolled up my sleeves and put Tabitha in her seat. Bella started gently washing her hair. Tabitha was splashing and hitting the water Bella was laughing. I was kneeling beside her and splashed her in the face.

"You did not!" She said jokingly stern.

"Fraid I did," I smirked at her and she smirked back. She splashed me and the water hit me square in the side of the face.

"Oops…"

We continued splashing each other and I remembered when we had done this months ago. Bella hit me on my arm and gently scolded me,

"You are such a bad influence on my daughter." I loved when she said 'my daughter' it made my heart swell.

I passed her the towel and she picked her up and dried her off. She was wrapped in the towel and Bella dressed her.

The rest of the day we didn't get up to much, we sunbathed outside and talked to everyone else.

We went to sleep quite late, around 1 am because we were all laughing and talking together. Bella was a bit drunk because we had drunk a bit. She had her head on my shoulder.

She yawned and said, "I love you Jasper, goodnight."

"Goodnight darlin'."

* * *

**BPOV (11 am)**

"OK bye darlin', love you both," Jasper kissed me and Tabby on the cheek. He got into his truck and drove off, waving to us.

Now that all the men had gone it was just Kate, Rose, Ali and I. Irina and Laurent will be here in less than an hour and Randall, Toshiro and Santiago are going to be back at 3 pm.

We were all talking when Irina and Laurent came in. We greeted them and since they slept at a hotel in Seattle last night they weren't jet-lagged. They both went to their room to unpack their stuff but they weren't gone long and came back and told us all about France.

"It was _amazing,_ we went to this little cafe that was overlooking this river/stream thing and it was beautiful. The food is delicious as well," Irina was telling us all about it.

We continued listening to Laurent and Irina talk about France until we had to make lunch. I just made some chicken salad for us.

We had finished eating and washing the dishes and were back in the sitting room when there was a knock on the door.

Kate got up and went to answer it. We continued talking.

Kate ran back into the room and shouted, "Jacob Black is here with his family!"

We all immediately sprang into action. Laurent, Kate, Ali, Irina and Rose grabbed a gun and Char, Tabby I went into mine and Jasper's room. I made sure the window was locked and drew the curtains and the door was locked. I passed Tabitha to Char and took out my phone and called Jasper.

"Hey, darlin', why ar-," He greeted but I cut him off.

"Jake is here with his family!"

"WHAT!" I heard Peter asking what was happening.

"I don't know how they found out our address. Char, Tabby and I are in our bedroom and we have locked the door."

"We are all coming back, hold on." I heard him shouting and the sound of a car engine.

"Jasper I'm scared," I admitted, tears forming in my eyes.

"I know baby but we will be there soon, just hold on."

-BANG- There was the sound of someone screaming.

"Shit Jasper did you hear that?"

"Yes but still don't leave the room, stay on the phone with me."

There was the sound of someone running towards the door.

"Jasper I think someone is coming."

"Whatever you do, stay on the phone."

Someone was rattling the door handle and trying to break open the door. Char and I went and stood in the far corner of the room.

I remembered that there was a gun in Jasper's nightstand so I grabbed that and pointed it at the door using my shoulder to keep the phone near my ear.

The door burst opened and Jake was standing there with the girl from the cafe behind him. She smirked at me when she saw my look of recognition.

"Jake is with the girl from the cafe," I quickly told Jasper. I heard him relaying this information to the others.

It was silent for a moment until I spoke up, "Why the fuck are you here?"

"Bella, you really thought I wouldn't visit you?" He asked incredulously.

"Who is she?"

"This," -he pulled he girl to him- "Is my wife, Renesmee."

"I heard that Bella," Jasper told me.

"Who are you on the phone with?" Jake asked me.

I didn't know whether to lie or not, I decided on the truth so I didn't anger him by lying.

"Jasper Whitlock."

"Hmm," He hummed as if considering something.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I just want the baby and you."

"I would never let you take her."

"Bella, tread carefully, I've already killed one of your friends. I can easily kill another," He threatened.

I felt myself become cold, I didn't want anyone else to die but I couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't kill Tabitha.

Char was still holding Tabitha and she shifted, making her presence known.

Jake smirked, "Bella, if you don't come with us I will kill her," He pointed the gun at Char.

I dropped my gun, "OK. Just don't kill anyone else."

He smiled and nodded at Renesmee she walked around the bed and Char reluctantly passed Tabitha to her. I was now holding my phone in my hand.

"Hang up."

"I love you, Jasper." I hung up immediately after that and passed my phone to Char, I knew he wouldn't let me keep it and I didn't want it to be destroyed.

"Come on Bella," Jake made a sweeping motion and I reluctantly followed after Renesmee, I looked back at Char and I could see her hands were balled into fists.

Jake followed out after me but not before telling Char, "If you try anything they both die."

We walked into the living room and I was utterly shocked when I saw Laurent on his back with Irina weeping over him sobbing and saying, "Why did he have to die?"

Ali was also sobbing and Kate and Rose looked stone-faced even though I could tell they were on the verge of tears. Billy, Rachel and Rebecca were pointing guns at them.

Jake laughed malevolently and violently wrenched Irina up by her hair and sneered after seeing her tear-stained face. He backhanded her and she flew across the room and hit the wall and her head started to bleed. Kate's hands balled into fists and her face flamed with anger.

Jake sighed as if bored and nodded at Renesmee and walked out, dragging me along. I was shoved in the back seat of a car and handcuffs were slapped around my wrists and Renesmee slide in beside me. Jake got in the front seat and started to drive.

It was a tense and uncomfortable drive. I was looking at Tabitha, her eyes were wide open and I could tell she was panicked, that's why when she started crying I wasn't shocked.

Jake let her cry for a few minutes until he shouted, "MAKE HER SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"I can make her quite if I could hold her," I said.

Jake looked at me in the rear-view mirror and then nodded at Renesme who took off the handcuffs. I massaged my wrists that were red because of how tight they were. I grabbed Tabitha.

"Come on Tabby, don't cry, I'm here." She stopped crying and was grabbing at my hair. I was glad that I fed her an hour ago.

I held her for the rest of the journey until the car stopped and Renesmee grabbed her from me. She got out and Jake came around to my side of the car and yanked me out and put the handcuffs back on me.

I didn't recognise where we were, the house was small and looked abandoned. Renesmee walked in and took Tabby into a room and closed the door. I was pushed into a kitchen looking room.

"Sit."

I sat down on the lone chair in the middle of the kitchen looking room. Jake leaned against the wall opposite.

He smirked, "Let's have some fun."

* * *

**JPOV**

We got to Claire Young's house in half an hour and there were two cars parked outside. Peter and I got out and walked to the door. The other's were waiting in the other cars in case we needed back up.

I knocked, a woman came to the door, she couldn't have been older than 25.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock and this is my brother, Peter Whitlock. Can we speak to Embry, Quil and Paul?" I asked.

"Oh sure, come in," She hesitantly let us in. We walked in and she guided us to the sitting room. We sat down and she excused herself to go and get them.

A minute later 3 native American men came in with crossed arms. I stood up and introduced myself and Peter.

"Why are you here?" One of the men asked.

"Business matters," Peter responded.

They were still hesitant, "We are not here to hurt you, we just need some information on the Black's."

This seemed to relax them marginally.

"I'm Paul Lahote, this is Embry Call and Quil Ateara."

They sat down on the opposite couch.

"Can our associates come in?" Peter asked.

"How many are there?"

"Six."

Paul nodded and I texted Garrett and they all came in. They all stood behind the couch.

"We don't want to be taking up too much of your time so I will cut to the chase. What are the Black's planning?"

"Honestly, we don't really know. They only tell us to do stuff, not why or anything. The only major thing that I know is that they have found out where you live. Something happened in a cafe or something and Renesmee copied down the plates and traced the car. I don't know when they are going to go over but when they do they are going to take Bella and the baby."

I stiffened, they were going to take my girls. "Why?" Peter continued.

"I don't know. I assume for ransom or something. I am sorry we can't be more help but a word of warning, they are sadistic fucks, especially Jacob and Renesmee. That's why we left, they are getting more and more volatile and would kill one of us."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"We don't know. We can't stay here, as soon as they know we are going they will come after us and this is the first place they will go. We are packing all of our stuff and then we are going to get out of here."

"Are they working with anyone?"

"Not that I'm aware of. They don't have any friends and I think that will be their downfall."

We continued discussing the Black's and what they were going to do. We ended up staying for lunch, we had offered them a place to stay but they declined, saying that they had their own place in mind but gave us their numbers in case we needed to contact them.

We were sitting down and talking when I got a phone call from Bella. I excused myself to answer it.

"Hey, darlin', why ar-," I was greeting her when she cut me off.

"Jake is here with his family!" That made my blood run cold.

"WHAT!"

"Jas? What's wrong?" Peter questioned.

I was only half-listening to Bella. I quickly told Peter what Bella told me.

"Shit!" Peter ran back into the room and shout, telling everyone. Immediately we all ran out to the cars. I got in mine with Peter, Ed and Em. I started the car and hauled ass, I didn't even wait to see everyone else.

"Jasper I'm scared," Bella whimpered.

"I know baby but we will be there soon, just hold on," I tried my best to reassure her.

-BANG- There was the sound of someone screaming.

"Shit Jasper did you hear that?"

"Yes but still don't leave the room, stay on the phone with me." Fuck! I really hoped that no one died. At least I knew my Bella and Tabitha were safe as well as Char.

"Jasper I think someone is coming.," She whispered down the phone.

"Whatever you do, stay on the phone." She needed to stay on the phone so I knew she was safe.

I heard the sound of the door bursting open.

"Jake is with the girl from the cafe," I told the others and Edward was furiously texting.

It was silent for a moment until I heard Bella asking him why he was here.

The girl from the cafe was Renesmee. I should have known! She acted really strangely when she questioned us about Tabitha.

I heard snippets of conversation.

"I just want the baby and you."

"I would never let you take her."

"Bella, tread carefully, I've already killed one of your friends. I can easily kill another." My fear was confirmed, he had killed one of my friends. He would pay for that.

I heard the sound of a gun being dropped.

"I love you, Jasper."

"No Bella, don't hang up!" It was too late, she had already hung up.

"FUCK!" I slammed my phone down.

Bella was texting me.

**Bella: It's Char. He has left with her and Renesmee has Tabby. I can hear shouting.**

**Me: Stay there until you know they are gone.**

**Bella: OK. I'll update you in a few.**

A few tense minutes went by until, finally, my phone started ringing.

Peter picked it and put it on speaker.

"They killed Laurent."

"Poor Irina."

"Jake threw her across the room and her head is bleeding. We have called Carlisle."

"What about Bella & T?"

Char sighed, "They took her. They all left. I don't know where they are going. I have the plates though, I've already texted them to Alistair."

"We are about 10 minutes out. So don't worry, we will be there soon."

I filtered out the rest of the conversation and just thought about Bella and Tabitha. I hope we can get to them before they get too badly hurt.

I do know one thing for sure. When I find Jacob Black, I will kill him with my own hands.


	12. Jacob and Renesmee Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a few different POV's.  
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." **— The Simpsons**

* * *

**Alistair POV**

Charlotte texted me the plates of Jacob Black's car. I took out my laptop and typed them in, I had a special app that could trace a car using just the plates. They were moving fast and using backroads. Garrett was driving and I was in the passenger and Riley and Diego were in the back.

They stopped just outside of Port Angeles. I got the coordinates and texted them to Jasper. He called us,

"Laurent was killed."

"Fucker!" Garrett exclaimed and hit the steering wheel.

"Here is the plan, you go back to the house and Diego, Riley, you do clean up and check on everything. Gar, Al, you drop them off and then haul ass to the location. We will head right there and will update you on the situation."

"Poor Irina, I hope she is alright," Diego said sadly.

"We need to get there quickly, he is volatile and I am sure he will kill Bella and Tabitha," Peter hurriedly told us.

We arrived at the house a few minutes later. Riley and Diego got out. Randall, Toshiro and Santiago came out and got in the car.

"We just got back, we know what happened, we have weapons."

I looked in the back. Randall had a backpack and was looking through it.

Garrett turned out and we started travelling to the coordinates.

Riley texted me.

Riley: Come back to me. Love you.

Me: I promise I will. Love you too.

I hoped I could keep my promise and would make it back to Riley.

* * *

**Irina POV**

"THEY KILLED HIM. THEY KILLED HIM. HE'S DEAD. HE'S DEAD. MY LAURENT IS DEAD!"

"Irina, I know, I'm sorry, please stop shouting." Kate had her arms around me.

"He's dead Katie, my Laurent is gone." I sobbed and the weight of the truth finally hit me.

I will never see him again.

He will never hold me again.

We will never be a family again.

They took him from me.

They took him.

"I'll kill her, Katie, I _will_ kill her." I knew then I would kill Renesmee Black even if it was the last thing I did.

* * *

**Rose POV**

They didn't need to kill Laurent.

Bella and Char had run away with Tabitha and the rest of us grabbed weapons and hid. I hid behind the couch with Ali and Kate. Irina and Laurent had run to the kitchen. It was a tense and quiet moment. Until the sound of a window-smashing made our heads turn.

Laurent and Irina were marched in with their hands on their heads and a gun pointing at their backs.

"Stand the fuck up and drop the weapons or they die!" A woman I didn't recognise commanded in a shrill voice commanded.

We all stood up and dropped our guns.

"Sit on the couch and don't try anything."

We sat down and Billy, Jacob, Rachel and Rebecca came in pointing guns. Rebecca kicked Irina in the back of the knees and she crumpled to the ground. Laurent went to help her up and they both sat on the floor, holding each other.

Billy, Rachel and Rebecca pointed their guns at us.

"How about some introductions?" Jake started, "I'm Jacob Black, this is my father Billy and these are my sisters, Rachel and Rebecca. This is my wife Renesmee."

I didn't understand why he was introducing us.

Irina was sobbing at this point.

Renesmee disgustedly snorted, "How pathetic are these two?"

She turned to Jacob, "I'm bored, can I kill one of them?"

Jacob chuckled as if amused, "Either her." -he kicked Irina- "Or him." -he kicked Laurent- "Only one though."

Renesmee pouted, "Why not both?"

Jacob gave her a look.

She huffed and walked in front of them.

"I love you, Irina."

Irina sniffled, "I love you, Laurent."

"Aw, how sweet." - she paused and lifted the gun to Laurent's head- "Bye-bye."

-BANG-

Irina let out a blood-curdling scream.

Jacob laughed and kicked her one more time.

"Let's go, Ness," They both walked out without saying another word.

Irina was sobbing and holding Laurent's head, her hands were covered in blood, as was her dress.

The only sound that could be heard for the next few minutes was the screams and sobs of a heartbroken woman.

* * *

**Char POV**

I waited a few minutes before I left the bedroom. I crept down the corridor and when I saw they weren't there and heard the sound of a door slamming I quickly made my way to the living room. Kate was up and came back in and told me the plates.

I quickly texted them to Alistair, I knew he would be able to use them.

Irina was still screaming and sobbing and Kate was trying to comfort her. Rose was on the phone with Carlisle.

I called Jasper using Bella's phone, I knew her password.

Devoid of feeling, I repeated everything that had happened to Jasper. I just hoped they would be able to find Bella and Tabitha before they got hurt.

I had just hung up with Jasper when Randall, Toshiro and Santiago came in. I filled them in on what happened and they went to get a bag packed with weapons.

Ali was sobbing and Rose went outside and guided Carlisle to Irina and told him what happened.

Before I knew it, Randall, Toshiro and Santiago had left. Carlisle was taking Irina to the hospital because she had a few broken ribs and major bruising as well as a minor concussion. Kate went with them.

Charlie came in and moved Laurents body. That left me, Rose and Alice. Ali stopped crying and went about cleaning the blood off of the floor and carpet. Rose went to assess the damage to the window. That left me, I didn't know what to do.

I felt detached and lost. I was sad for Irina and scared for Bella and Tabitha. I just hoped no harm would come to them or anyone else.

* * *

**BPOV**

"Fuck you, Jake," I spat.

"Tut tut tut. Bad language Isabella."

He strode forward and backhanded me.

I felt the strong tangy taste of blood in my mouth, I spat it out on the floor.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"Answer me when I talk to you!" He kicked me in the ribs.

"Yes, you hurt me," I said in the calmest voice I could muster.

He came over and took off the handcuffs.

He slapped my face.

"Get up." I quickly stood.

He grabbed my arm and threw me into the corner of the room like a ragdoll. I landed awkwardly on my wrist and cut my head on a piece of broken glass. I cried out in pain.

I saw him palming his bulge through his jeans.

I propped myself up in the corner of the room and cradled my wrist, I was sure it was broken.

He came over to me and dragged me to the chair and made me sit down. He put my arms behind the chair and handcuffed them. I felt a sharp pain go through my arm and I cried out.

He smirked and started unzipping his jeans.

"No, please, no," I started whimpering.

"Shut up bitch." He was still in his boxers but he was already hard.

His manhood was eye level with me. He took it out of his boxers and smeared the pre-cum that had formed over my cheeks. He pressed his tip against my lips when I didn't open my mouth he said,

"Open up and don't you dare bite."

I reluctantly opened my mouth, he didn't hesitate and shoved his cock right in. I was choking and spluttering but he didn't care, he grabbed my hair and moved my head. I couldn't breathe and could feel the spit dripping down my chin and tears streaming down my face.

"You like this, huh? Of course, you do slut! You do this for all the guys!" Jake was grunting out.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum!" He pulled me off his length and I was gasping for breath. He yanked my head up and pumped his cock. He came all over my face and smeared his cum all over. He tucked himself away.

"Dirty whore!" He punched me in the stomach and I doubled over in pain. I was sick on the floor, a mix of vomit and blood. Blood was trickling into my eyes from the cut on my forehead.

He walked out and I could only hope that he wouldn't hurt my daughter.

* * *

**Nessie POV**

I was holding the baby until we got into the disgusting house. I put the baby down and left her. I didn't know what to feed her so I just didn't bother. I texted Rachel, she was going to be here in a few minutes. I waited around until she did.

Rebecca came in and took the baby.

"We'll meet you at La Push, don't stick around for too long, they will be coming." I nodded and Rebecca left.

I put the pre-written note on the table in the room I was in, it was in an obvious place so I knew they would find it when they inevitably came in. It was another few minutes until Jake came in,

"OK Nessie, let's get going."

"OK wait a minute, I'll catch up."

Jake gave me a weird look but agreed nonetheless.

I walked into the kitchen room where Bella was being kept. There was bloody vomit on the floor and she had cum and spit all over her face and blood on her forehead that was covering her eyes.

"Why, do you not have a heart?" She questioned.

"Just because I don't care about you or your baby doesn't mean I don't understand how you feel."

She slumped down, "You know we will kill you."

I just hummed, "We'll see."

I kicked her once in the ribs and punched her across the face. She lost consciousness.

I left and got into the car with Jake and he started the engine.

I knew they would eventually catch up with us but we had the baby so they would have to do whatever we said.

* * *

**JPOV**

Alistair called me, "They are on the move."

"OK, keep track of that but we will still check the previous coordinates."

"Will do."

It took us another 30 minutes before we got to the coordinates. We pulled up outside of an abandoned-looking house.

"I'm not sure about this, J. I'll sweep around," Garrett said.

We waited until Garrett came back. "No obvious traps, we still need to check inside."

I nodded, "Peter and I will go left, Garrett and Al you go straight ahead, Ed, Em cover the back. Toshiro, Santiago and Randall you cover the front."

We all went to our positions. Peter kicked open the door and we went left into a bedroom with an en suite. Nobody was there, the only thing that was there was a note on a table. It read,

* * *

Jasper Whitlock,

We have your daughter, if you want her back you'll have to follow our orders.

Only you should come to the house with $15 million.

If anyone else comes with you they will be shot on sight.

Do not come armed.

You have 2 days otherwise the baby will be killed.

You will get the next instructions when you arrive.

The address is on the back of this letter.

You better hurry up before we kill her,

The Black's

* * *

I passed the note to Peter, he quickly read it.

"What are you going to do?"

"What other choice do I have? I'll have to go."

"PETER, JASPER, BELLA IS HERE," Garrett shouted.

I immediately ran out and turned the corner. Garrett was blocking her face from view. I saw there was bloody vomit on the floor and Alistair was doing something behind Bella's back. Garrett stepped out of the way so I could fully see her.

She was passed out and had blood on her forehead, covering her right eye. Spit was dribbled down her chin and her face was tear-streaked. She had what looked like dried cum smeared all over her face and in her hair. She also had a black eye and a bruise forming on the left side of her face. Her arms were tied behind her back with handcuffs, Alistair was taking them off.

"I WILL FUCKING KILL HIM!" I punched the wall and my hand went through the rotted wood.

"I am pretty sure her wrist is broken," Alistair told us.

I turned back around, Garrett had picked her up and was walking out with her.

Peter put his hand on my shoulder, "Go, Ed, Em and Gar will bring her to Carlisle. You go and get the money then get Tabby, I'll sort everything out. Don't kill Renesmee, leave her to Irina and Bella."

I nodded, I couldn't stay here, looking at Bella's bruised and violated body. I marched out and got in my truck, determined to get Tabitha back.

* * *

**BPOV**

I woke up in a hospital bed with Peter holding my hand. One of my eyes was covered. I looked around but couldn't see Jasper. I tried to sit up but a sharp pain in my ribs stopped me.

"You need to sit down sugar," Peter gently pushed me back down.

"How long have I been out?"

"You have been in and out of consciousness for 2 days, it's the 12th of November. You have 2 broken ribs and one is fractured. You needed stitches on your forehead. You had a shattered cheekbone and a fractured eye socket as well as a broken wrist.

"Where is Jasper?"

Peter looked uncomfortable, "There... There was a letter that was left and we found it. It asked for $15 million in exchange for Tabitha, here." - he passed me the letter and I read it - "He hasn't been in contact since he left."

I couldn't take it, it felt like my life was collapsing around me. I started sobbing and Peter held me while I did.

I sniffed and pulled away, "What about Irina?"

Peter sighed, "Laurent is dead, Irina was taken to hospital for 2 broken ribs, major bruising and a mild concussion. She is awake and isn't talking to anyone only muttering about Laurent."

"Everyone is coming back. Tanya and Felix arrived earlier today, Tanya and Kate haven't left Irina's side. Felix and Garrett are arranging the funeral, something small that only his family are going to attend."

"Did… Did you see what he did to me?" I had to ask.

He squeezed my hand, "I did, I'm so sorry sugar, I am sorry you had to go through that."

I sighed, it wasn't the first time he made me do that, not that I would tell anyone that.

Char came back in with two coffees and was surprised to see me awake. She passed the coffee to Peter and he squeezed my hand and let go and Char grabbed me in a gentle but firm hug.

"I'm so sorry Bella."

The rest of the day passed with visits from everyone else. I was especially surprised when Alistair hugged me. Mom and dad stayed for the most part, fussing over me. I was getting speaking to everyone apart from the main person I wanted to speak to. Jasper, I missed him and Tabby.

I fell asleep thinking about them both.

* * *

**Renee POV**

My baby girl. I couldn't believe what happened to her, all at the hands of Jacob Black whom she had once trusted. When Carlisle got the call about Irina he immediately left, Charlie went soon after to take Laurent's body. Esme and I stayed at the house.

Charlie called me and told me about what had happened to my baby girl and granddaughter and I immediately went to the house. Carlisle had already left with Kate and Irina. That left just Rose, Ali and Char. Rose was measuring the window and went to buy a new one. Ali was washing the blood out of the carpet and off the walls. Char looked lost, she was looking out the window and I could tell she wanted to cry.

I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. She turned around and I could see the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Renee," She whispered.

"Oh, dear, it's not your fault. Come here." I pulled her into a hug and held her while she cried.

She eventually stopped crying and wiped away her tears. She gave me a watery smile.

It was another hour and a half before we got word about Bella and Tabitha.

I was devastated that Tabitha wasn't with her.

We all went to the hospital and Charlie and I saw our girl. It was disgusting what Jacob had done to her, I shuddered to think about it.

My boys were there as well as Garrett. The other men had to wait for Alistair to drive back to pick them up.

Edward and Emmett were torn between staying with Bella and going to see Ali and Rose. I told them Charlie, Esme and I would stay for now and they could come in later. Garrett went to see Irina and Kate.

Char was staying with us and texting Peter. When Peter came back he held Char and she fell asleep against his chest.

This pattern continued until Bella woke up. Garrett and Felix where arranging Laurent's funeral and checked on Bella as well as Irina. I was surprised by Alistair and Riley, they took turns sitting on Bella's bedside. Rose, Ali, Ed and Em also took turns.

Peter was beside Bella while we went to eat lunch. That was when she woke up. She was withdrawn, not that I was surprised. I could tell she was deeply missing Jasper and her baby girl. Peter was worried about Jasper, he hadn't been in contact since he left to get the money.

Now that Bella was awake and so was Irina we were all worried about Jasper and Tabitha. We were also mourning Laurent. If Renesmee was that callous that she would kill a man in cold blood I shudder to think what she would do to Jasper.


	13. Rescue Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance if the cities/ towns don't make any sense. I just googled them.
> 
> Italics = Nightmares
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters

* * *

"I just wanna keep calling your name until you come back home" **— Zayn, I Don't Wanna Live Forever**

* * *

**BPOV**

"OK, Bella you can leave today, use these for when you are experiencing bad pain for the first few days. These can help you sleep if the nightmares or anxiety gets too bad."

"Thank you, Carlise, I really appreciate it," I leaned up to hug Carlisle.

It had been 3 days since I had woken up. Jasper still hadn't been in contact with anyone. Irina was discharged 2 days ago. She is helping to arrange Laurent's funeral. Everyone is back now.

Mom had brought in some normal clothes for me, Rose helped me get dressed. It is really difficult with a broken wrist and limited mobility because of my ribs. I have also been getting nightmares. I used to have nightmares all the time with Jake but I stopped having them when Jasper came into my life. Now they were only worse, nightmares about Jake and what he could do to Jasper and Tabby.

Peter and Char were driving me home. They are both worried about Jasper, they haven't told Darlene or Chester but if he is gone much longer they are going to have to tell him.

We got back to the house and it looked normal like it did before everything. Ali made lunch for me, I thanked her and noticed how different it was without Tabitha. I hated it.

One thing I hadn't expected was to become close friends with Alistair and Riley. They talked to me often and tried to make me laugh. I appreciated their efforts. I didn't ask them why they suddenly started acting so close but I didn't complain.

"I'm going to have a little nap, I'm really tired," I told Ali.

"OK, call if you need anything, love you Bels."

"Love you too Ali."

I walked down the corridor and opened the door. The room was the same as it was when I was last in it with Jasper, nothing was out of place.

I was just wearing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. I slipped out of them and changed into a pair of Jaspers sweatpants and one of Jasper's t-shirts. I crawled into Jasper's side of the bed with Tabitha's elephant stuffed toy. I inhaled the scent of Jasper. When I had my eyes closed and inhaled his scent I could almost imagine he was here with me.

_I was sitting on the couch with Jasper and Tabitha. He had his arm around me and I was leaning my head against his chest. He was holding a baby Tabitha on one of his arms. We were sitting in silence, enjoying each other's company._

_Suddenly, Jake appeared in front of us but only I could see him. He had a gun and was pointing it at Jasper and he was slowly getting closer. My body was frozen and I couldn't react. Jake had the barrel beside Jasper's head. Jasper turned towards me and asked,_

_"What's wrong darlin'?"_

_Jake pulled the trigger and instead of seeing my Jasper's face all I saw was a massive bloody hole with Jake peering through, smirking._

I woke up screaming. Peter ran in.

"Bella?" He looked around but once found no danger he came up to me and put his arms around me.

"Another nightmare?" At my small nod, he started stroking my hair.

"I miss them, Pete." I sobbed into his chest and he rocked gently shushed me.

"I know sugar, I miss them too."

We stayed like that for some time until Peter gently pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"It is nearly dinner time. Do you want me to bring you something in bed?"

I nodded, "That would be so helpful. Thank you, Peter."

"No problem sugar." He stood up and walked out, gently closing the door.

Char came in 10 minutes later with a tray with a plate of chicken alfredo and a glass of water and some strawberries.

"Thank you, Char."

"No problem, Bella,"

I ate my food and Char came back up to take the tray. We talked for a bit until she left me with my thoughts. I was currently reading "The Hobbit". I tried to read it but I couldn't concentrate enough. I put it down and picked up the TV remote.

I was flicking through the channels and ended up on 'American Idol'. I wasn't really watching it, I was just using it as background noise so I didn't feel so lonely. This pattern continued until I decided to go to sleep at 11 pm.

I couldn't get to sleep, I decided to text Jasper. I had taken to doing that whenever I missed him or Tabitha. I didn't expect a response.

**Me: Hey Jas.**

**Me: I miss you and Tabby.**

**Me: I've been having nightmares again. They are still all about Jacob and him killing you and sometimes Tabitha.**

**Me: I was discharged today. I have a cast on my arm, an eyepatch and bandages around my ribs. I have been in bed since I got home, I'm wearing your clothes and holding Tabby's elephant toy.**

**Me: Jasper, please come back safe and with Tabitha. I don't think I can live without you both.**

**Me: Love you both Xx**

I had been texting him since I woke up. I don't know why I didn't even know if he still had his phone but it always made me feel better.

I sighed, put my phone down and went to sleep.

_I was running through a maze. I knew someone was following me but whenever I turned around I didn't see anything. Abruptly, the maze ended and I was in Jake's old bedroom. I looked around but found no trace of the maze. I sighed and walked over to the bed, intent on getting in but when I lifted the covers I saw Jasper's body mangled in a heap._

_I screamed and turned around, only to see Jake blocking the door. He had Tabitha by her arm, dangling her. She was screaming. I screamed at him,_

_"Why are you doing this to me!"_

_He just replied with,_

_"Because I can." He laughed and threw a lifeless Tabitha to me._

I woke up with a start. I wasn't screaming but I was very sweaty. The sheets were tangled around my legs.

I grabbed my phone, 5:30 am. I knew I wouldn't be able to get any more sleep so I decided to get up.

I was going to have a shower but decided it would be too much work. I would have to make sure I didn't get any water on my eyepatch and my cast, I would also have to unwind the bandages around my ribs.

I got up quietly and made my way into the kitchen to get something to eat and drink. I settled on a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. I walked out into the sitting room. I was sitting on the couch that faced the window so I could see the sky.

I had finished eating when I heard someone come in. I looked back and saw Alistair.

"Hey, Al. Why you up so early?"

He was shirtless and just had on a pair of sweatpants. He sat down beside me.

"I could ask you the same thing."

I sighed, "I had another nightmare about Jasper and Tabby."

"I'm sorry Bella."

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, why are you up so early?"

"I'm always up this early."

"Really?" I couldn't comprehend why.

"Yeah, I just always have. I had to when I was an assassin, you know 'early bird gets the worm' and all that."

I hummed. We sat in comfortable for another half an hour.

"I'm just gonna get something to eat." I nodded and Alistair took my plate and glass as he left to go to the kitchen. He came back in 10 minutes later with a bowl of porridge and 2 cups of coffee.

"Thanks," I said as he passed me the cup. I cradled it in my hands.

"He's been communicating with me."

"How?" I asked, trying to not feel too hopeful.

"Well, as you know, we all have trackers on our phones so we can see where you are and the activity. I have been looking at his, and he texted early, around the time he got to the Black's on Google." He paused for a minute, "It's hard to explain, I'll show you. Wait here."

He came back a few minutes later with his laptop. "These are Jasper's search logs."

**J. Whitlock - I can't text anyone. Alistair, you better see these.**

**J. Whitlock - Tab is safe for now. Don't come to the address.**

**J. Whitlock - I gave them the $. They want to know all the warehouses to steal from.**

**J. Whitlock - Gonna hit Everett first, let them, give them false confidence.**

**J. Whitlock - 2nd is Tacoma, plan to hit 18th sometime early 1-2 am-ish.**

**J. Whitlock - Bring everyone there. All the Black's will be there.**

**J. Whitlock - I will be there because of ID. Tab will be with me.**

**J. Whitlock - I have to go they're taking my phone. I'm switching it off.**

**J. Whitlock - Tell Bella that Tabby and I are safe and that we love her.**

"I would have told you earlier but I only discovered them last night."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"Only Riley."

"OK. Let's call a meeting when everyone else is awake."

"I will."

"I'm so glad they're alive."

"So am I."

We sat in comfortable silence as we watched the sunrise.

"I'm gonna see Riley," Al said at around 7:30 am. I left and went to my room. I made my bed and got changed into a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt.

It was 11 am when the meeting was called. Everyone apart from Irina, Santiago, Felix and Tanya were present. Irina and Santiago where heavily grieving. Laurent was Santiago's best friend. They had arranged the funeral, it was going to be held in Frace on the 25th of November. Only Irina, Tanya, Kate, Garrett, Felix, Santiago and his close family would be attending.

Alistair started, telling everyone about the messages Jasper had sent.

Peter stood up, "We should be at the warehouse at 10 pm latest. Toshiro, Randall, Al, Riley, Gar, Ed, Em and I will go. Edward and Emmett will stake out inside and when they walk in will attack. The rest of us will be outside. Al, you can bring your sniper and you can disable people from the roof, not kill, just disable."

Alistair nodded as did everyone else.

The meeting was adjourned and Peter and Char pulled me to the side.

"I can't believe he is still alive." Char hugged me as did Peter.

Carlisle told me that he had to check my eye. He drove me back to the house he shared with mom and dad, he had his own hospital room.

"Let's check this." He peeled off the eyepatch.

He talked as he worked, shining a torch in my eye, "Thankfully, you didn't need surgery. However, there was major swelling. It has gone down enough now so you don't need to wear this anymore. Don't blow your nose too hard and continue taking your meds."

I looked around slowly, getting used to the light again.

"Thank you, Carlisle." I hugged him gently.

He looked at my forehead, "These are healing nicely, you should only have a faint scar when everything is said and done."

"Your ribs will need to stay wrapped for another week, I will check on them then."

He didn't need to tell me about my wrist, I had broken it before when I was younger by falling out of a tree.

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" He sat down in his chair.

Ever since the first time I had told Carlisle about Jake abusing me, he would regularly talk to me about it. He knew the whole extent of the abuse, nobody else did.

"Apart from the nightmares, not really. I am really worried about Tabitha but that eased when I learned that Jasper was safe and had her."

He nodded, "He will be back tomorrow if everything goes to plan."

That thought helped me get through the rest of the day. Before I knew it, all the men had left and I was sitting on the couch with Char, trying not to worry about Jasper and Tabitha.

* * *

**Peter POV**

Garrett was driving, I was in the passenger and Alistair and Riley were in the back. The drive didn't take too long, it was only around 30 minutes before we reached the warehouse. It was shrouded by trees. We parked the cars in said trees and all got out.

Alistair had his sniper. Edward and Emmett had rifles as did the ret as us.

"So, Al you can search for a good spot on the roof and can act as a lookout. Edward, Emmett, you go set yourself up inside, out of view but within firing range. Make sure you go in the back entrance. Nobody shoots until Alistair does. Disabling shots, no killing. The rest of us will spread out around here."

Everyone split up and went to take their places. Alistair gave Riley a quick kiss on the cheek and left. Edward and Emmett left and that left Garrett, Toshiro, Randall and me.

Toshiro and Randall went off and talked on their own, leaving just Garrett and me.

We talked until around 1 am when Alistair texted us on the group chat.

**Alistair: I can see headlights, 2 cars.**

Garrett and I got into position, lying on the ground in wait. Shortly after we heard the sound of tires.

The first car came to a halt and Jacob Black got out and was pushing Jasper.

"For fuck's sake, I'm getting there, no need to push."

"Shut up Whitlock, just fucking open it."

Jasper unlocked the warehouse and it opened. He was pushed back into he car and Billy, Rachel, Rebecca and Renesmee got out. Renesmee locked Jasper in the car and took the keys so he couldn't go anywhere. Noone of them had any weapons, they had gotten cocky after not being caught at the first warehouse.

That was when Alistair took his first shot. He shot Billy Black in the back of the knees. He fell like a rock. Garrett and I got up then and ran closer. Edward and Emmett had shot Jacob, he was holding his shoulder and his leg was bleeding. Renesmee was screaming and ran towards the car, Riley got her before she could though and she fell to the floor holding her ankle. That left Rachel and Rebecca. I didn't need to shoot Rachel because she was holding her arms up. Rebecca was running, Gar got her in the knee and Al got her in the shoulder. She fell then.

I knocked out Rachel, tied her hands behind her back and left her on the floor. Garrett did the same. Renesmee was screaming. Jacob was threatening us and Billy had passed out.

"Pass me the keys," I said to Renesmee.

"Why should I?"

"If you don't we will break both your legs."

She hesitated for a moment before taking her keys out of her coat and throwing them at me.

I went and unlocked the car that Jasper was in, he was holding Tabitha. He had bloodied knuckles and slight bruises on his face and arms, but apart from that, he looked fine.

"Hello, Peter," I grabbed him into a hug. I kissed Tabitha on the forehead. Jasper nodded at the rest of the men, they nodded back.

Emmett was carrying Rachel and Rebecca to the jeep. He put them in the trunk.

Emmett then picked up Billy and put him in the trunk of the car Jasper was in. He was still passed out.

Jasper nodded at Riley and he knocked Renesmee out. I did the same for Jacob. We patted them down and took their phones and keys. We tied their arm and legs and put them in the back of the other cars. There were 4 cars in total to drive back to the house.

Emmett and Edward got in the jeep. I got in the Volvo with Jasper. Santiago and Randall took one of the Black's cars and Alistair, Riley and Garrett took the other Black's car.

We drove back to the house in comfortable silence. I didn't pressure him to talk.

When we got to the house Bella was standing on the porch waiting with Char. It was dark so she couldn't see who was in the car with me. I got out at the same time Jasper did.

Bella flew down the stairs. She ran into Jasper's embrace. She was sobbing and kissing all over his and Tabitha's face. He asked about her arm and told him we could talk in the morning. Toshiro and Randall were moving the Black's into the basement. They knew what to do. They should tie them to separate chairs spaced far apart and take lock the door behind them. They were all still knocked out and wouldn't be awake for at least a few hours.

Char walked down the stairs and gave Jasper a hug. Bella was holding Tabitha and was tucked into Jasper's side. Everyone greeted Jasper and told him it was ingenious, using Google to message us.

Bella hugged us all and thanked us for helping get Jasper and Tabby back.

Eventually, we all said goodnight and went our separate ways.

I was glad my brother and niece were back and we had the Black's. They won't know what hit them.


	14. A Conversation With Jacob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happened in the 6/7 days Jasper was gone.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"'Cause all of me, loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges, All your perfect imperfections." **― John Legend, All Of Me**

* * *

**JPOV**

I had gone back to the house and filled a suitcase with $15 million. Currently, I am driving to the address that was on the letter.

I couldn't get the image of my Bella with cum smeared over her face and bleeding out of my head.

I was going to kill him.

Right now the thing I'm most worried about is Tabitha. At least I know Bella is safe.

I pulled up outside of the house. I don't have any weapons so I'm completely defenceless.

The house had 2 floors. There were 2 cars parked outside. I parked beside the 2 cars. I grabbed the suitcase out of the passenger seat and got out. I slowly walked to the door. I rolled my eyes, of course, he would make me knock.

I knocked on the door and Jacob Black opened it.

He smirked and motioned for me to come in. I was on my guard.

I walked in and saw Renesmee holding Tabitha. She stood up. I put my arms out and for a split second, I thought she was going to give her to me. She didn't.

She sat back down. Tabitha saw me and held out her hands.

"Sit down," I did as I was told and sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Renesmee. Jacob told me to pass the suitcase to him. I passed it and he opened and quickly checked the contents.

"So Jasper, you're probably wondering why you're here." I didn't reply.

Jacob was going to continue when Tabitha started screaming. Renesmee didn't do anything.

"Make her shut up!" Jacob strode towards Tabitha.

I knew I shouldn't push my luck but I didn't trust Jacob with her. I abruptly stood up,

"Give her to me," I commanded.

Jacob turned around. He looked like he was going to deny me but when Tabitha screamed impossibly louder, he gave in. He nodded at me and I strode over and all but snatched her from Renesmee's grasp.

I sat back down, cradling Tabitha. I was whispering to her, "It's ok darlin'. Are you hungry?" She stopped screaming.

"When did you last feed her?"

"About an hour ago," Renesmee answered.

"What did you give her?"

"Normal milk," She replied like it was obvious.

"She's still hungry, do you have any soft fruit like banana's or peaches?"

Renesmee was going to speak but Jacob cut her off, "Who says I will give you any?"

I glared at him, "I'm not doing anything you say until you let me feed my daughter."

Renesmee spoke up, "We have bananas." Jacob glared at her.

"Can I make something for her to eat?"

Jacob begrudgingly let me.

I was guided into the kitchen and Jacob kept an eye on me as I unpeeled the banana and squashed it. I was still being watched as I fed Tabitha. Rachel came in and passed me a diaper.

I burped and changed Tabitha then walked back into the sitting room area.

"Now that brat is no longer interrupting us," I gritted my teeth, "The reason I told you to come here was that I want to know the locations of all your warehouses in Seattle and the surrounding area."

I scoffed, "I can't remember all the locations." This was a complete lie, I knew all the locations.

Jacob sighed angrily. "Do you have all the locations on your phone?"

"Yeah."

"Well, find them on your phone, don't text anyone or the baby dies."

I wasn't going to run the risk of him finding out I had been texting. Instead, I searched on Google. I knew Alistair could access all of our search histories and I hoped he would check mine. I 'read' the addresses of the warehouses in Everett, Tacoma, Redmond and Kent. Jacob asked me the warehouses that everyone would least likely to be at. I answered Everett and then Tacoma.

Jacob turned to Renesmee and stated, "Well I guess that means we are hitting Everett the 15th and Tacoma in the early hours of the 18th."

I tried not to smirk, they had just unwittingly given me all the information I needed. I quickly searched all this and switched my phone off.

"Give me your phone." I passed my phone to Jacob and he promptly smashed it. I knew he would do that. Now I really was on my own.

I was pushed into a little basement room. There were no windows and one mattress, it had 2 pillows and a thin blanket. The first thing I did when I got there was fashion a bed for Tabby made from the pillows and I wrapped her in the blanket. I would sleep in my clothes straight on top of the mattress.

It was another hour before Renesmee came down, she had 2 bananas, 2 diapers and a bottle of water. I would save those both for Tabitha. She dropped everything on the floor and I yet again rolled my eyes.

I picked up the bananas and water and I took a sip of the water and put it at the bottom of the mattress with the bananas and diapers. I fell asleep curled protectively around Tabitha.

I woke up later, I didn't know how much later but I knew it had been at least a few hours. I sat up and fed Tabitha a quarter of a banana. I had just one bite.

I held off on changing Tabitha for the moment. It was another 10 minutes before Jacob came down. I was holding Tabitha but put her down on her pillows. I stood up and Jacob walked over to me. He produced 2 chairs from seemingly nowhere and told me to sit down. He was facing me.

He crossed his arms and smirked.

"What?" I asked, irritated.

"Bella moved on fast." I tensed. I knew he would bring up Bella eventually but I didn't think he would this early.

I didn't reply.

"She didn't just move on either, she became a mother. She always told me she didn't want any kids." He chuckled darkly, "I guess it was just me that she didn't want. Not that I give a shit. She was too much of a prude, never wanted to fuck, still a virgin, you see. When I made her give it up, she was screaming and crying, telling me she didn't want it. Obviously, it didn't matter if she didn't want it if I did."

My nails were digging into my palm and I could feel the blood trickling down. He was just trying to get a rise out of me. I wouldn't react.

"It was a turn on though, all the begging. She was great to throw around, the perfect little doll. She never told anyone about how she really got hurt. Always lied for me. Everything was going well until stupid Rosalie saw the handprint. She, in turn, told Emmett and Edward and they fucked me up. Then I was thrown into prison. Callous really." He said all this with an air of indifference.

"I bet you liked what I did to her. Fucked her mouth. Broke bones, made her bleed. You can keep her, I don't want sloppy seconds anyway."

I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. I could feel the anger flowing through every part of my body. When I opened my eyes he continued speaking,

"Honestly, I'm surprised you still want her. I made sure I left my mark on her, mind and body. I broke and bruised her. I threatened and abused her and yet, you _still_ want her. You love her enough to let her mother your child. Oh, that's another thing, what happened to, what was her name… Maria, was it?"

I gritted my teeth, "She's dead, I killed her."

He guffawed, "You killed her? Why?"

"She was a threat to my family."

"Your family? Who would that be?"

I rolled my eyes, he just wanted to know who I was closest to.

"Tabitha, Bella, Peter, Charlotte, Garrett, Kate, Edward, Emmett, Rose, Ali and Alistair."

Those where all the people I was closest too, so they were my family.

I decided I was going to ask questions, "So, what happened to your muscle? Did they leave?"

I knew the answer, they had left. I saw the look of rage pass across his face.

He stood up and punched me straight in the stomach. I stood up and backed away, I could easily take him on but I had to think about Tabitha. He made me walk backwards until my back hit the wall, he then kneed me in the groin, I cowered over in pain. He spat on the floor in front of me,

"Pathetic."

He angrily stomped up the stairs and I didn't see him for the rest of the day.

I changed Tabitha and fed her some more at the appropriate times, while she slept during the day I looked around the room. The only thing I found was another blanket and some laundry.

I was getting really bored but since there was nothing to do, I was just left with my thoughts.

I was thinking about what Jacob had said about Bella. I was utterly disgusted. The things he did to Bella… How could he that to another person?

Now I know where she got that scar from, I suspected it was from Jacob but he confirmed it. I can't believe what she had to go through. I stood up, suddenly furious.

I was pacing around like a caged animal, I needed to hit something. I looked around and kicked the chairs across the room. I punched the wall until my knuckles started bleeding.

I sighed and slumped back against the wall, feeling the pain of my knuckles. Eventually, when Tabitha started crying, I got up and wrapped my knuckles using strips of laundry.

The next few days dragged by slowly, Jacob had not come back down. 5 days had passed and I only got given 2 bananas, 2 diapers and a bottle of water a day. I gave the majority of the food to Tabitha.

Renesmee came down one afternoon (or at least I think it was the afternoon). She told me to stand up and pick up Tabitha, I did so and she told me to go up the stairs, I was on high alert again. I was pushed upstairs and into a car. I was put in the back with Billy. Renesmee and Jacob were in the front. Rachel and Rebecca got in another car. They all had guns, not that they would need them.

The drive to the Everett warehouse took 4 hours. In that time, no one talked and the only sound was that of the car engine.

When we got there it was late afternoon, the sun was just setting. I was pulled out of the car and I placed Tabitha on the seat. Jacob was pushing me,

"For fuck's sake, calm down!"

He pushed me harder in the back and I went stumbling forward. When I eventually got there, I put in the password and did the retina scanner. It opened and everyone got out and started taking things. I was pushed back into the car and the door was locked. I rolled my eyes. As if I could go anywhere.

They were back in quickly and speeding off.

When we got back I was shoved back downstairs but this time, Jacob followed me down. I ignored him while I fed and changed Tabitha. When I put Tabitha down Jacob motioned for me to sit.

I begrudgingly did so.

"How did you know about Quil, Paul and Embry?"

I scoffed, "You really don't think we aren't monitoring all the texts and communications you all make?"

"Tell me everything you are currently monitoring."

"Phones, computers, cars, warehouses, police files, everything really."

"How do you get all this information?"

I figured there was no harm in telling him seeing as I would hopefully be home in 2 or 3 days time.

"Alistair."

Jacob hummed and stood up, he punched me across the face, when I didn't flinch, he hit me again.

"GET UP!" He screamed. I leisurely got to my feet with my arms crossed.

He kicked me in the ribs and the back of the knees. When I fell to my knees, he stood on my throat. I was gasping and clawing at his boot.

He abruptly took his foot off and I was gasping for breath and coughing. He grabbed my neck again and pushed me against the wall,

"You're lucky we need you, otherwise I would kill you right now."

He emphasized his point by squeezing my neck. He let out a disgusted noise and left me there, gasping for breath and massaging my neck.

I wasn't given any food the following day. I didn't care, as long as I had enough food for Tabitha.

Before I knew it, I was hauled back up the stairs and was pushed back in the car. This time, they were cocky and didn't have any weapons. I tried not to smirk.

I spent most of the drive thinking about Bella. I wasn't going to bring up anything Jacob said for at least a few days. I knew it would painful for her to talk about and I would have to tell her about Maria.

I sighed, it really wasn't going to be fun.

We got to the warehouse and I was once again pulled out of the car. Jacob was pushing me again,

"For fuck's sake, I'm getting there, no need to push."

"Shut up Whitlock, just fucking open it." He pushed me harder but I stayed quiet and did what he said.

I again put in the password and did the retina scanner. Jacob pushed me back in the car and Renesmee locked me in.

I was looking out the window. I was tense until I heard the first gunshot. I relaxed and watched as I held Tabitha.

I was sad when I didn't see Santiago, remembering what happened to Laurent. That was another reason the Black's had to die.

When all the Black's had been disabled Peter came over and unlocked the car. I greeted Peter,

"Hello, Peter." He grabbed me into a massive hug and kissed Tabitha.

I turned away from him and nodded at everyone else, they all nodded back. I could see the relief in their faces that we were both ok.

I looked at Riley and nodded, he knocked Renesmee out. Peter knocked Jacob out and Emmett was carrying Rachel and Rebecca to the car.

When all the Black's were in the cars we left. I got in the car with Peter. He drove. He didn't ask me anything and I was grateful. I was really excited and nervous to see Bella, I want to see what he did to her.

We will just leave the Black's until tomorrow.

I barely close the door when Bella came flying down the stairs. She gave me a passionate kiss. She was sobbing and gave me a massive hug. She took Tabitha from me and hugged and kissed her all over her face. She kissed me all over mine and told me that she loved us.

We all walked in, Bella glued to my side. Char came over and hugged me. Everyone else did as well, Toshiro and Randall were moving the Black's.

I hugged Garrett, "I'm so sorry about Laurent."

He sighed, "It's been really hard on Irina, Tanya and Katie. All the more reason they have to die. The funeral is going to be held on the 25th."

I nodded and told him I was sorry once more. I said the same to Kate, she had dark circles under her eyes, I doubted she had gotten much sleep over the past week.

I noticed how tired I was after another 20 minutes, "I'm off to bed now, thank you all for your help. We will sort everything out tomorrow."

Before we went to our room, we stopped off in the kitchen and I got something to eat and fed Tabitha.

When we got into our room Bella started to undress.

"Can you help?" I helped her get her t-shirt off. I became furious when I saw the bandage around her ribs.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." I saw through the lie immediately but I didn't comment on it.

I took off my t-shirt. She was doting on me, looking at all the bruises.

"I'm fine, Bella, don't worry."

"Did they do anything to Tabitha?"

"No, I had her most of the time."

We walked over to Tabitha, she was wide awake.

"I'm going to change her."

Bella changed her diaper and put her in footed pyjamas, we'll wash her tomorrow.

We got into bed and she put her arm around my neck like she was scared I was going to go.

"Did you get any of my texts?"

"No darlin'. He destroyed it,"

She didn't say anything.

"We'll talk about everything tomorrow when we have both had some sleep."

"OK, I love you so much, Jasper."

"I love you too, darlin'."

When we woke up, I went and had a shower. After, we washed Tabitha. Bella wasn't really talking but again, I didn't comment. We could talk about everything later today. It wouldn't be pleasant but it would have to happen.


	15. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Italics= Memories.
> 
> Warnings: Graphic descriptions of rape, rape aftermath and toxic relationships. If this triggers you then please don't read.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Told me you'd never been in love, thought that I could be the exception. It was too much to ask of you." **— Gabbie Hanna, Butterflies**

* * *

**JPOV**

"He's awake," Alistair told me. I had told him to get Jacob in a room by himself so I could go and speak to him.

I walked down into the basement and switched the lights on. Jacob looked up at me and scowled,

"That was a nasty trick you played on us."

I didn't respond and instead slowly started circling him.

"Why did you do all that to Bella?"

He snorted, "Because I could."

I stopped and punched him across the face.

"When did you meet Renesmee?"

"When I was in high school. She came and met me when I was in prison and then we got married while I was in there."

I continued asking him questions until I left to eat lunch.

"Get any information?" Emmett asked me.

I shook my head, "He just told me that he knew Renesmee since high school and she visited him in prison and they got married. He also told me that he was planning to hit all the warehouses and then kill Tabitha and I. After that they would move to somewhere else in the US and settle down there. They figured they would have enough money to live comfortably."

Emmett nodded, "Are you going to continue questioning him?"

"I might and then everyone else can go down and beat him up a bit. Not kill him though, we can leave him for a few days."

"Thanks, Jasper. Bella is talking to Alistair. They have become really close lately."

I nodded and went to find Bella and Alistair. Bella was holding Tabitha and listening to Alistair. She wasn't talking but she did look like she was listening. When I went and sat beside her Alistair said goodbye and that he would speak to her soon.

"You ok, darlin'?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

We ate in comfortable silence.

"Can I go and see Jacob with you?"

I was shocked that she would ask but I knew that she had to talk to him eventually.

"Yeah ok, you can give Tabitha to your mom or Esme to look after for the day. We can get her tomorrow morning."

She agreed and once we finished eating we gave Tabitha to Renee. She said that she could look after her until lunchtime tomorrow.

"Are you ready, Bella?"

She blew out a breath, "Yeah, let's do this." She grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers.

* * *

**BPOV**

Jasper pushed open the door to the basement. I steeled myself before I followed him down.

Jacob was slumped in his chair and there was crusted blood on his face and shoulder. His leg was at an awkward angle.

He lifted his head and saw both of us.

He leered at me and said, "I see you've brought the whore to me."

Jasper let go of my hand and slapped him across the face, "Shut the fuck up."

His head snapped to the side with the force of the blow. He didn't say anything.

"So why did you come here then?" He asked. I looked over at Jasper and he nodded, leaning against the wall. I took in a deep breath. I slowly walked around the room, my eyes never leaving Jacob's. I knew that this would be the last time I would talk to him so I took this time to sort out my thoughts and what I was going to say.

"I loved you."

There was silence and I saw Jasper tense.

"You were my first love. I thought you were my Prince Charming." I scoffed, "You were my world. Then, you hit me for the first time. I thought I deserved it, you probably don't remember what happened, but I do. Crystal cleary."

I paused and took a deep breath. I got lost in the memory as I told him what happened,

_We had gone out on a date to a restaurant. We had been together for around 5 months. We went back to Jacob's room. His family wasn't there, I can't remember exactly why._

_When we got back to the house I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I tripped over my own feet (like I always did) and dropped the glass. Jacob came rushing in when he heard the glass smash._

_He started shouting, "What the fuck! Can you not hold a glass?!" He walked over to me menacingly and I froze._

_I was terrified, I had never seen him look like this before._

_"Jake, I'm sorry. It was an accident."_

_He slapped me. Hard. Across the face. My head snapped to the side with the force of the blow. I stared at him while I held my face, shocked. He walked out and gruffly told me to clean up the mess._

_I quickly cleaned up the glass and I decided to leave. I didn't have a car but I decided that I would walk to the road and then call an Uber. I was putting on my jacket when Jacob came back._

_"I'm really sorry, Bella. I don't know what happened. Sometimes I just get really angry."_

_Me, being naive, believed him and stayed._

"That was the first time you hit me."

Jacob didn't say anything and instead stared directly at me.

"You started to become more violent. Until one day, I decided to leave you for good but you wouldn't let that happen. Would you?"

_"I'm leaving you!" I screamed, hurling books and pillows, everything I could get my hands on, at him._

_"No, you're not." He said in a deceptively calm voice that made me pause._

_"What do you mean?" He took this time where I faltered to stride closer to me._

_"You can't leave, Bella." He stalked me and I turned and tried to make a run to the door._

_He tripped me as I ran past him._

_I fell flat on my face. I touched my nose and saw the blood on my hand._

_He picked me up and threw me on his bed. I tried to get up but he straddled me._

_"I told you, you can't leave."_

_He started undoing the buttons on my blouse. I was clawing at his hands, trying to get him off. I knew where this was going and I felt sick._

_He grabbed my wrists and pinned them by my sides. He took off my blouse and I was left in just my bra._

_"Jake, please, don't. I don't want this, please no." I was pleading with him and sobbing. He ignored me and was trying to unclasp my bra. When he couldn't, he took a knife, I don't know where from and cut it._

_The flimsy fabric fell apart and I tried to cover myself but I couldn't, not without my hands. He made an approving noise and slapped both of my breasts. He did this again and again until my skin was red. I was crying out in pain with each slap. Whenever I closed my eyes he grabbed my face and made me look at him._

_When he grew tired of this, he started working on my jeans. This left my hands free. I tried to get free, slapping him. He was too strong for me. He tied my hands above my head with my own scarf. I had been wearing it when I first came into the room to talk to him about breaking up before the situation escalated._

_I was pleading with him but he didn't stop. He undid the button and zip on my jeans. It was at this moment that it really hit me._

_I was going to be raped._

_I gave up. He was too strong and I wouldn't be able to get loose. I stopped pleading and struggling. Jacob thought that meant I liked what was happening._

_"Oh baby, I know you like this."_

_I didn't respond. He slid my jeans off my legs. I was left in just my underwear. He sat up and admired me. I had my head to the side and was looking at his bookshelf._

_"Look at me!" He again pulled my face to the side. I stared blankly ahead._

_He started taking off his jeans until he was in just his underwear. He took off his shirt._

_He put his hand into my underwear._

_He started fingering me and I despised the way my body involuntarily reacted. I could feel the wetness seeping into my underwear._

_Smirking down at me he said, "I knew you liked this."_

_But I didn't like it. I hated how my body reacted to his probing fingers._

_He took off my underwear._

_Then, he took off his boxers. He pushed in without warning. The feel of my hymen being torn was agonising. He saw this on my face and didn't slow down. He pounded into me roughly._

_I cried out in pain when he slapped my clit. He flipped me over and started hitting me on my ass. I was utterly humiliated._

_"Dirty slut! You're so… fucking. Tight."_

_He gripped my hips and started moving more erratically._

_I remembered with a jolt that he wasn't wearing a condom. I wasn't on the pill either._

_"No, stop, I'm not on the pill. Stop!"_

_He gritted his teeth and I thought he was going to ignore me. He, however, didn't and instead flipped me over again and pulled out. He came over me. Some got onto my face._

_I had never felt more violated in my life._

"You. Raped. Me." I got into his face and screamed at him. I was on the verge of tears so I stood up straighter and took a deep breath.

"That wasn't the last time though. Let's not forgot the last night we spent together when you gave me this." I pulled up my t-shirt and pointed to the thick scar that ran from shoulder to of it was covered by the bandage but the majority of it wasn't.

_He flew into a rage when I slapped him and told him Rose and Ali saw the handprint and I was here to say goodbye and that I would be pressing charges._

_"You can't fucking leave me!" We were in the kitchen and he grabbed a knife from the draw. I don't know how, but he knocked me out._

_When I woke up, I had a splitting headache and I was tied up. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. I knew I didn't have a bra or t-shirt on. My jeans where still on though. I tried to get out but that just resulted in my arms hurting._

_The lights came on abruptly and I saw Jacob at the top of the basement stairs. He had a carving knife. I started to struggle and he just chuckled._

_He slowly came towards me._

_"If I can't have you, no one can. Don't worry, this won't kill you but it will hurt like a bitch."_

_He proceeded to drag the knife, lightly at first, from shoulder to hip and back again. He slowly pressed harder and harder._

_The pain was unbearable. I was screaming and he just laughed. I faded in and out of consciousness. I looked down and just saw a puddle of blood. My jeans had been stained red._

_Once he had finished with that, he cut my arms. There were already cuts there but he added to them. He just kept on saying if he couldn't have me, he would make it so no one could possibly find me attractive._

_The last thing I remember before losing consciousness was Jacob laughing and telling me that it worked and I would be scarred, ugly and undesirable to even the most desperate man._

_I don't quite know how I ended up in the hospital. I woke up and mom and dad were there. They told me that Edward and Emmett had left to find Jacob._

_When Carlisle came in and told me that there would be lots of scarring, I cried. Jacob had been successful. Nobody would ever want me again._

"I cried. For days, all I did was cry."

"You know, the only person that knows the full extent of what happened is you and Carlisle. I didn't tell anyone, not even my best friends because I was embarrassed. I couldn't believe that I could let myself be treated so badly. I told Carlisle, mom and dad that they couldn't tell anyone about this giant scar. I don't even wear a swimsuit in case anyone sees the scars. It wasn't until a few months ago that I started wearing short-sleeved t-shirts. Even then, I try to cover my arms with my hands. I'm always paranoid about them. You were nearly successful in ruining my life. Nearly."

I walked towards Jasper and again, interlocked our fingers. He squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

"You see, I found Jasper and Tabitha. I was in a pretty bad place before I found them. Not that I showed that to anyone, but I was. They unknowingly helped me through it. Where my mind used to be plagued with thoughts and nightmares about you, now I barely ever think about you. That is all because of both of them. You were my first love, but Jasper will be my last. You tried to ruin my life but in fact, you saved it. You hurt me and because of that, I have a loving family. I have another brother and sister, more friends, a daughter and a loving boyfriend. So for giving me all this, I thank you."

* * *

**JPOV**

Bella yet again shocked me when she said thank you to Jacob. From the look on Jacob's face, he was also shocked. I had listened intently when she was talking to Jacob. When she was talking she had a faraway look in her eyes.

I was unbelievably angry hearing all the things he did to her. I couldn't help but to relate it back to Maria.

I decided that I would talk to Bella about my time with Maria tonight. We had already helped each other heal but this would be the next step so we could be happy.

"Goodbye Jacob," Bella said this and started to walk out. I followed her.

When we got outside the basement Bella started talking, "Can we go to our room?"

"Yeah, sure."

We walked to our bedroom and I asked Bella if I could use her phone. She passed it to me and then she went into the bathroom to run a bath and I quickly texted Emmett.

**Me: We're done talking to him. You can go down now, don't kill him ~J**

**Emmett: I know. We won't kill him. Thanks for this, Jas.**

I didn't mean to but I was curious about what she had texted my phone. I looked through some of the texts. I hated that she had nightmares and she was in so much pain.

I put her phone on her nightstand. I walked into the bathroom. Bella was putting bubble bath in.

"Can you stay? I want to show you my scars." She said this while turned away from me.

"Are you sure? You don't have to."

"I trust you enough to see them."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me.

When the bath was full, she started to undress. I didn't turn away.

First, she took off her t-shirt and jeans. She was left in just her underwear and bra.

She took a step closer and held her arms out.

I gently grabbed the one without the cast and inspected it.

There were white scars all over her arm, from her wrist all the way to where her shoulder met her neck. I traced them with my thumb. Her head was turned away from me.

I gently grabbed her chin, she looked at me, "You don't have anything to be ashamed or embarrassed about."

She looked deep into my eyes and slowly nodded, she looked at where my thumb was still tracing one scar at her wrist.

"I love you so much, Jasper."

"I love you too, Bella."

She took a shaky breath and pulled her arm gently away.

She grabbed my hand and placed it at the top of her shoulder, where the scar started at I traced it down, over her bra and bandage. My fingers grazed over her nipple because her bra covered some of the scars.

She reached around and undid her bra. She let it fall to the floor. My eyes never left hers. She nodded and my eyes fell to her breasts. Her breasts were perky and her nipples were hard. Her right nipple had scarring underneath.

"You're beautiful," I muttered while tracing the scar.

"No, I'm not." My eyes snapped to hers.

"Don't you ever say that. You are beautiful. These scars just prove that you are strong." A silent tear ran down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb. I leaned in for a gentle kiss.

I stepped back.

Slowly, I took off my t-shirt. I thought I would feel exposed, stripped, but I didn't. I could see her eyes darting all across my torso and arms.

She stepped forward.

Slowly, tentatively, she put her hands on my chest.

I had scars zigzagging all over. Some were crossing over each other and others were by themselves. It looked like someone had scribbled over me. Maria had enjoyed inflicting torture on me, she would use her nails and knives.

When Bella asked me what caused them, I told her as much.

She shocked me when she leaned forward and kissed the ones on my shoulders. She did that for both of my shoulders.

She took a step back and I took off my jeans and was left in just my boxers. I had scars on my legs as well but they weren't as noticeable.

Bella started full-on crying, and I was confused but said nothing as I grabbed her in my arms and soothed her.

She pulled away, "I can't believe Maria did all this to you."

"It's ok darlin'. She is gone now."

"I know but it doesn't erase what she did to you."

I pulled her close to me again. We stood like that for some time until she stepped back.

"Can you help me undo this?" She pointed to the bandage, "Carlisle says I can take it off while I have a bath but I need to put a new one on when I get out."

"Of course."

She turned around and I undid the tape that held the bandage together. Slowly, I undid it. I could see more of the scar now. The scar was a jagged line that was fainter in some places than in others.

She blushed, "Um, can you help get my… off?"

I must have looked confused because she took a deep breath and said quickly, "My underwear."

I quickly smirked and nodded. She blushed and I told her I would close my eyes. I did as I said I would and closed my eyes as I pulled her underwear down her legs. I stood up and she stepped out of them. I still had my eyes closed and I heard her stand in the water.

"Can you help?"

I opened my eyes. She was standing in the bath, facing the wall, she had her side facing towards me. I walked over and grabbed her good hand and helped her sit down.

"I'll do your hair if you sit back." I offered. I didn't want her to get water on her cast or hurt her ribs by stretching too much.

"That would be great."

I wet her hair and put her shampoo on, strawberry-scented this time. I got a major feel of deja vu back to when I last did this. It was when we hadn't really known each other, the difference a few months makes.

I rinsed out her hair and I let her soak for a bit.

While she did that I went back into the bedroom and picked out a pair of pyjamas for her. I chose the polar bear pair.

After putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I went down to the kitchen. Rose and Ali were there.

"Hey girls. How are you?" I greeted them while I looked in the freezer.

Ali wearily sighed, I was immediately concerned, Ali was always happy.

"Em and Edward are down there, punching the shit out of Jacob."

I grabbed the peanut butter cup Ben and Jerrys out the freezer and moved to grab two spoons.

Rose continued, "And Irina, Tanya, Felix, Kate, Garrett and Santiago are with Renesmee. Irina is… well, she is to be quite frank, scary. One minute she is detached and talking to Renesmee and the next she is screaming and slapping her. It's all a big mess, Jas."

I sighed, "I know, Bella is... well she is better now that she talked to Jacob and she is opening up to me. I know right now everything is shitty but we will get through this."

"Thanks, Jas." Ali smiled.

"Now, go get that ice cream to Bella before it melts."

"OK, text me if there are any more problems."

They both nodded and I left and walked back into our room.

Bella was still in the bath.

"You ready to get out?"

She nodded, I helped get her out and drained the bath.

When I turned back around she had her dressing gown on. She asked me if I could rewrap the bandages. She went and sat on the bed and faced away from me. She had to sit completely naked on the bed. I got the bandages and wrapped them tightly around her. When I told her I was done she thanked me and put the dressing gown back on. She got changed into her pyjamas as I switched on the TV. Bella crawled into the bed.

"What Harry Potter one are we up to?"

"'The Half-Blood Prince'."

I took off my jeans and t-shirt and got into the bed beside Bella. She played the movie and we shared the ice cream.

We finished the movie and I left to get some food for us. Everyone was in the dining room except Edward, Emmett, Irina and Santiago.

I knew I had to say a few words. I got everyone's attention,

"I know this is a difficult time for everyone but we will finish this all tomorrow. Renesmee and Jacob will be no more. We can then decide what to do with the other 3. Everyone get some rest because tomorrow we will have a lot to do."

Everyone agreed and I left with food for Bella and me.

I knew that I was right, Tomorrow was going to be the end of a chapter for all of us.


	16. The End Of The Black's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"An enemy is like a man's most prized flower. It brings him joy to see it buried in the ground." **― David Gemmell, Echoes of the Great Song**

* * *

**JPOV**

We were all gathered in the basement. When I say all of us I mean all of us. The only people that aren't here are Renee, Esme and Tabitha (obviously). Jacob and Renesmee are tied to chairs and the rest of us are standing.

Charlie, Carlisle, Santiago, Irina, Bella and I are in front of them. Everyone else is spaced out around the room.

Bella is holding my hand. Irina is standing in front of Renesmee. Charlie is the one that is doing the talking.

"You are both despicable. Jacob, what you did to Bella after we welcomed you into our family is unforgivable. Renesmee, you disgust me. You took my granddaughter and intended to kill her and Jasper. You killed Laurent for no reason and no remorse. You two are complete and utter monsters!" Charlie paused. "You are both dead. As the rest of your family will be. You can die knowing that we won."

"Irina."

Irina stepped forward, she was holding a gun. She grabbed Renesmee's face and pointed the gun at her head.

"I love you, Jacob."

"NO! STOP!"

"You killed Laurent. For no reason. Rot in hell, you bitch!" Irina pulled the trigger. It was silent apart from the ringing of the shot.

"NO! YOU BITCH!" Jacob was shouting and trying to get out of his chair, he wouldn't be able to.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut the fuck up!" I shouted, he had the common sense to do what I said.

Irina was sobbing and Garrett was holding her. A silent tear ran down Santiago's cheek.

"What you did to Bella was despicable. The way you treated her and talked to her. You are a fucking monster. You can die knowing that she is happy. You didn't ruin her life like you wanted to. You failed and caused the death of your whole family." I looked at his bruised and battered face and felt a wave of disgust wash over me. He was a monster, inside and out.

I squeezed Bella's fingers and she let go. She walked over to him, gun in hand.

She pointed the gun at his crotch. She pulled the trigger and Jacob let out an ear-piercing wail. I cringed as did everyone else.

"Fuck you, Jacob Black."

She shot him in the head, ending his pathetic life.

Nobody moved for a few minutes until Carlisle spoke up, "Let's go deal with the rest of them."

Everyone started moving. Alistair and Riley started untying the bodies so they could dispose of them. The rest of us started going up the stairs.

Bella grabbed my hand again.

"You alright, darlin'?"

"I feel like I had a shadow following me but now it's gone."

"Is that good or bad?" I thought I knew the answer but I had to check.

"Good. I just want to put this all behind us."

Irina and Santiago were standing in front of all of us.

"We are leaving for France, there is still some stuff to sort out," Irina told us.

We all hugged them, Tanya, Kate, Garrett and Felix would leave tomorrow morning.

Peter got a phone call just after we said goodbye to Santiago and Irina. He stepped away to answer it.

He patted me on the shoulder and gestured for me to take it. I raised an eyebrow but took it nonetheless.

"Hello?"

"Jasper?"

"Speaking."

"Hey, Jasper, it's Paul. I am on my way to you. Don't kill Rachel, please. I have to talk to you about her. It's really important. Please don't."

He sounded very panicked and flustered.

"Ok, ok, calm down, Paul. We won't kill her. I'll wait for you to get here before I do anything with her. We have already killed Renesmee and Jacob though and we will most likely kill Billy and Rebecca."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care about them but don't kill Rachel."

"Ok, Paul. We won't. Text me when you are closer."

"I will. Thank you for this Jasper. I really do appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem. See you later."

"Bye."

I hung up.

"Who was that?" Bella asked me. Everyone else was also looking at me.

"It was Paul Lahote. He asked us to not killed Rachel. He has to talk to me about her. I don't see why not. She hasn't done anything bad. When everyone else ran, she surrendered."

"I agree, no need for unnecessary bloodshed," Carlisle added. Everyone else agreed with Carlisle's assessment.

Alistair and Riley passed us with a body each slung over their shoulders. They were both wrapped in plastic bags.

"Ali, Rose, Bella, Char, you take Rachel out. If she puts up a fight, Em you take her. Let's get this over with."

We all walked down the stairs.

Rose and Ali got to untying each of Rachel's wrists. Bella told her to not put up a fight.

Surprisingly, she did as she was told. When Rose and Ali where done she didn't move until Bella told her to.

"Where are you taking her?" Rebecca asked. Nobody replied.

"What the fuck?! You can't just take her!"

"Yes we can, I would shut the fuck up if I were you. We have already killed Jacob and Renesmee and won't hesitate with killing you." Peter told them.

"You killed my boy! You are evil! I will kill you!"

Rachel, Ali, Char, Rose and Bella walked out.

"You are in no position to make any threats old man," I warned.

He gulped.

* * *

**BPOV**

We sat down in the sitting room. Rachel was sitting across from us.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Ali asked her.

"Oh um, yeah. I'm actually pretty hungry." She nervously laughed.

"Is toast ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Ali left to get her toast, Char following her. That left Rose and me.

"So…" I started. Rose glared at me, she clearly didn't trust this girl.

"You killed Jacob and Renesmee." She stated it as a fact, not a question.

"Yes, we did. How does that make you feel?" Rose asked, with crossed arms.

Unlike Rose, I had spent time with Rachel before. This is how I knew that Rachel was actually a good person. When I would go over to Jacob's house, she was the only person that was nice to me. Rebecca was a complete bitch, she would make snarky comments and go out of her way to be mean. Billy would ignore me and when he would speak to me he would be sarcastic. Rachel, on the other hand, was always nice, talking to me and laughing.

"I'm glad, they deserved it."

Rose was surprised as was I. I knew she didn't like Jacob or Renesmee but I didn't think she would be glad they died.

"Why?" Rose asked curiously.

"Because they were utter shits. They were mean and treated everyone like shit, including me. They also became violent and volatile."

Ali and Char came back in with toast and a glass of orange juice. Rachel thanked them and hungrily began eating.

Jasper walked passed us to the front door. We heard him talking to someone, most likely Paul Lahote. Rachel set her plate down and finished her juice.

Paul walked in and Jasper followed after him. Rachel looked up when she heard them walk in. She stood up right away and ran over to Paul. She ran into his arms and he swung her around.

I raised an eyebrow at Jasper and he just smirked.

"I've got to go. Paul, could you tell the girls."

"Sure Jasper."

Jasper placed a quick kiss on my cheek and left.

Paul sat down on the couch and Rachel was tucked into his side.

"I'll introduce myself. I'm Paul Lahote. As you know, I was a part of the Black's. I left with Quil and Embry. We went to Claire Young's house, Quil's girlfriend. Rachel is my girlfriend. She was going to leave and meet up with us."

We were all shocked.

"So, you both don't care about the Black's?"

"Well obviously, I kind of care about them but not enough to stop you from killing them."

"I don't care at all."

Huh. We talked to them both for another half an hour before everyone came back up. Alistair and Riley had come back and they sat down beside me. When everyone else came back up they left to get the bodies.

Jasper came and sat beside me. I put my head on his shoulder.

Jasper and I left at 2 pm to pick up Tabby from mom.

We got to the house and picked up Tabitha. Mom was out but Esme was there.

I asked how she had been and Esme told me, "She has been fine. No issues."

She asked us, "How are you doing?"

I filled her in on what happened and assured her that we were both alright.

When we got back to the house it was 5 pm.

We walked back in and ordered pizza. Dad and Carlisle left.

When the pizza arrived, I did what I always did and told everybody to line up.

When everyone had gotten their slices, I sat down beside Jasper. Garrett had gotten everyone drinks. He stood up,

"A toast to Laurent. We will never forget you, rest in peace."

We all raised our glasses, "To Laurent."

When we all finished eating and talking, we said goodbye to Paul and Rachel.

They told us that we could call them if we needed to talk to them.

After that, Jasper and I went to our bedroom.

"We need to give Tabby a bath," I told Jasper.

"OK, I'll get everything sorted."

I put Tabby in the bath and Jasper knelt beside me. I only had one hand so I just watched as Jasper washed her. He shaped her hair into a mohawk.

I laughed and Tabby laughed with me.

We took her out and wrapped her in a towel.

I dried her and put her in her crib.

"I'm just gonna have a shower," Jasper informed me, "OK, I'll read my book."

I took 'The Hobbit' out and continued reading it.

It was another 10 minutes before Jasper came back. He was wearing just a towel. He was gorgeous.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sure." He went into the bathroom and got a comb.

He sat down and I was behind him. I started combing through his hair.

"Are we still going to see your parents?"

"Yes. We will go a little later than we previously planned, I was thinking we could get there for the 12th of December and stay there a week. We can visit them any day of that week. We can buy Christmas presents for everyone when we are there."

"That's fine with me. How are you feeling about seeing your parents?"

"I'm honestly fine. I know that they will be happy with you. I just hope they can see that I've grown."

"Have you told them we are coming?"

"No, not yet. I was thinking that we could spend a few days in Texas relaxing, just the 3 of us."

"That's a good idea."

I finished combing through his hair. I leaned around and kissed his cheek, "I'm done."

He smiled and caught my lips with his.

The kiss quickly became heated and I leaned back on the bed he turned around, still kissing me and held his weight above me. I was breathing heavily and I looked into his eyes.

"How long until you're healed enough?" He asked me huskily.

I swallowed. I knew what he meant. How long until we can have sex. "Christmas."

He sighed and collapsed beside me.

"I don't think I can last a month." He joked but I could hear the seriousness behind the comment.

I blushed.

"I'm going to get changed." He told me.

"OK, when you get back you need to help me."

He nodded and walked back in the bathroom to get changed.

Tabitha started crying. I tried to calm her but she was hungry.

I knocked on the door. "I'm going to feed Tabby."

I heard a response through the door, "OK darlin'."

I walked down to the kitchen. Nobody was there. I sat Tabitha down and got her food out. I finished feeding her and took her back.

Jasper was lying on the bed in an old t-shirt and boxers. He was searching for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1". I put Tabitha in the crib and asked Jasper if he could help get my t-shirt off.

He stood up behind me and pulled it off. He also helped me get my jeans off. I was left in just my underwear and I went to get my pyjamas.

I grabbed them and Jasper helped me get them on.

We sat down to watch the movie.

I was so glad we could move on as a family and not have to worry about Jacob and Renesmee.

I couldn't wait for Christmas.


	17. Christmas Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." — **Dr Seuss**

* * *

**BPOV (13th December)**

We got to Texas yesterday. The jet ride was surprisingly ok, I wasn't sure how Tabitha would be on the plane but she was fine. We went on the private jet just in case she didn't handle it too well. We are in the hotel right now. Jasper is still asleep. I am sitting up and holding Tabitha.

I can't believe she is 7 months old. Time really does fly.

We went to Jacob's place with Rachel and we took a load of money. We also took back everything they stole from the warehouse and we stopped off at their warehouses. They only had 2 warehouses and there really wasn't much there but we still took everything.

Jasper is starting to wake up.

He moved his hand over to my side of the bed. He found my hand and squeezed it. He threw his other hand over his eyes.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily.

"9:30 am."

"What are we doing today?"

"Christmas shopping."

I am really excited about Christmas shopping and just walking around as a family. I have never been to Texas. We need to get Christmas presents for mom, dad, Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Emmett, Rose, Ali, Char, Peter, Alistair, Riley, Garrett, Kate, Irina, Toshiro, Randall, Santiago, Tanya and Felix.

I already had a present for Jasper and Tabitha. I made one for Jasper and Tabitha's is arriving in the mail.

I also already had some stuff for Char. I had picked up a memory box thing and in it, there are ultrasound pictures with dates. There is also a few photoshoot pictures of her and Peter. Finally, there is a picture of Tabitha touching Char's belly with writing on the back that says 'Tabitha says hi to her new cousin. She can't wait to meet him or her!'. These are all kept in a scrapbook. Char can put the baby's first clothes and mementoes in the box.

Heidi and Demetri are in Germany. They are house shopping, they are going to move there when they find the perfect house.

Felix and Tanya are moving to Slovakia. It is Tanya's home country and they really like it there. Irina and Kate are understandably a bit upset but they know that it is the best move for them. They are leaving after Christmas.

Diego moved to Mexico.

Laurents funeral has been held. Irina has been getting better, she talks to Santiago a lot.

Most excitingly, Edward and Emmett have told me that they are planning to propose to Rose and Ali on New Year's Eve. When they told me I nearly screamed. Even though they told me to tell no one I immediately told Jas. I am so excited and honestly can't wait.

Jasper and I are moving into his house. We are going to move after Char gives birth. Edward and Emmett also bought new houses. Peter and Char already had their own house but they are now properly moving into it. Alistair and Riley are renting a new house. Garrett and Kate are also living together, it's Gar's house but Kate is living in it.

So the only people living in the estate are Santiago, Irina, Toshiro and Randall.

We are going to use the estate as a meeting/ party place. Also just as somewhere we can all meet up.

Char is 8 months pregnant. Because of this, Darlene and Chester will come back home with us when we leave. We also have to get Char's dad. Her due date is the 16th of January.

It is going to be a busy few months.

My ribs are no longer wrapped but Carlisle advised against any strenuous physical activity. The cast on my wrist has been on for around a month and will stay on for another few weeks.

Jasper's snores reached my ears. I shook his shoulder.

"What?"

"You need to get up."

"Ok, I'm up." He slowly sat up.

I passed Tabitha to him and told him I was getting dressed.

When I came out of the bathroom I was fully dressed and ready to get something to eat.

Jasper was pulling his t-shirt on. Tabitha was sitting on the bed waving her arms and babbling.

I scooped up Tabitha. I had already fed and changed her. I put her in the Stroller.

We left after another 20 minutes. Jasper knew his way around easily because we were in his home town. We walked into a little pancake house.

We had our breakfast and got to shopping.

I had a rough idea of what I was getting everyone for Christmas. Em was the easiest to shop for because he really liked anything. Santiago, Randall and Toshiro were definitely going the hardest.

I told Jasper who we needed to get presents for.

"Usually I just get Randall, Toshiro and Santigo some beer."

"So should we just give them the same this year?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

We got the beer first because it was the easiest. We got them 3 bottles each.

"While we are here, Felix likes gin and I was thinking about a flask for Garrett. He always likes a drink," I told Jasper.

"Hmm."

We were looking over the shelves when I spotted something.

"What about that?" I pointed at the DIY gin making kit.

"That looks like something he would like."

I tried to get it but I was too short. I heard Jasper chuckle and I whipped my head around and gave him a dirty look.

"Are you going to get it for me or are you just going to laugh?"

He chuckled and easily grabbed it. He put it in the cart and we continued walking.

Jasper was the one that found the flask for Garrett. It said on it 'Everyone Should Believe in Something. I Believe I'll Have Another Drink'. It perfectly summed up Garrett.

We paid for everything and moved on to the next shop.

"So for dad, I was thinking of getting a personalised fishing pen knife."

"How would you personalise it?"

"Well, there is a couple that has a business and they engrave pretty much anything. You might know them, Didyme and Marcus?"

"I've heard of them."

"Yeah, they are like college friends of Carlisle or something."

I found a great fishing pen knife and put it in the cart.

Jasper saw a paracord survival bracelet. I immediately thought of Alistair. It was definitely something he would appreciate. Jasper put it in the cart.

The next thing we saw screamed Emmett. It was a wooden boat with two grizzly bears carved into it, rowing the boat. The bears were at each end and in the middle was 4 sample bottles of whiskey. There was also a discount code for more whiskey on the website.

We laughed and remarked about how much it reminded us of Emmett.

We picked up a scratch-off travel map for Tanya. She was really passionate about travelling with Felix.

We moved to the next shop.

This had mostly electronics. I knew Edward wanted noise-cancelling headphones so he could listen to classical music without being interrupted. I picked them up. I got Carlisle a Fitbit.

We had a break and went to McDonald's for lunch.

"We only have to buy things for my mom, Esme, Rose, Ali, Peter, Riley, Kate and Irina."

"Do you have any rough ideas on what to get?"

"Yeah, for my mom we should get a frame that says 'Best Grandmother'. She would love that. We can also get a gift that she can share with Esme. I was thinking of a tree with lots of branches and I can handwrite at the bottom 'The Swan-Cullens (and a few Whitlocks)'. Then I can write everyone's name around I will have to leave a few blanks for children but you get the idea. For Rose, I saw this diagram in a picture frame of Henry Fords early engines."

"Why would Rose like that?"

"She's a part-time mechanic."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"I can't believe you didn't know that. Anyway, for Ali, we will just get her some fabrics and ribbons because she can use all that for her fashion designing stuff. Riley was talking about wanting a new coffee maker so we can get him that. Kate loves chocolate so we can get her some fancy stuff. For Irina I was thinking of a 'forever in our hearts' memorial thing, she would really like that. I don't know what to get Peter but you can sort that out."

"I will find something. Has the thing for Tabitha arrived yet?"

"No, not yet but it is on its way."

We finished eating and got back to shopping.

By the time we had everything, I was exhausted. Jasper ended up getting Peter a '101 Dad Joke' book.

We got back to the hotel and I crashed on the bed.

"I'll take Tabitha out for a bit and give you a bit of time alone."

I sat up immediately, "You don't have to, Jas."

"Bella, you look exhausted. It's really not a big deal. I will go out with her for a while and let you have a rest."

"Are you sure its no trouble?"

He sighed exasperatedly, "Yes, it is 100% fine. You have a nap and I will go out with Tabotha and pick up something to eat for you."

"OK, I love you, Jasper."

He came over and kissed me and I kissed Tabby's forehead, "We love you so much, Bella."

They left and I was alone. It was strange, without Tabitha or Jasper. For the first time since I had met Jasper, I was alright without him. There were no worries. I felt… fine. I didn't panic without him I just felt normal. I realised it was because I didn't have anything to worry about. Jacob was dead and I knew my family was all safe.

I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**JPOV**

I took Tabitha out because Bella looked really tired. She had really thought about what to get everyone.

We have ordered a pink elephant with 'Tabitha's First Christmas' written on it.

Right now, I am getting Bella's present. It is a necklace with a gold heart. On it are mine and Tabitha's birthstones and names. We can add more names if/when they are needed.

I walked into the shop and I told the lady my name. She went to the back of the shop and came back out with a box. I opened it and checked it. It was beautiful, I knew Bella would definitely like it. I thanked the woman and she wrapped it in a bow.

We walked out and went to get some food. We got the food and sat on a bench outside.

I took Tabitha out of the stroller and fed her. Once she was fed I just sat holding her for a while.

I was just thinking about everything. I was very glad that Bella was happy and relaxed. I was also glad she didn't have to worry about Jacob Black anymore.

I am anxious to see my parents. I know it won't be bad but I just worry what their response to Bella will be. I hope it will be positive.

I am excited for Christmas. It will be a great family occasion and Tabitha's first. I know Bella is also excited, she says that it usually snows and it's a tradition to split into teams and see who can build the best snowman but it usually ends up in a snowball fight.

I smiled, everything was perfect.

I sat there for a while longer until I decided to make my way back.

When we got in Bella was gently snoring. She had definitely been tired because she hadn't even bothered to get changed into her pyjamas.

I put Tabitha on the other side of the bed and put the food on the table.

I didn't want to wake Bella up just yet so I went for a shower. When I came out of the bathroom, Bella was just starting to stir. Tabitha had crawled closer to Bella's face and was gently slapping her face.

I had only a towel around my waist and I quickly put on a pair of boxers before I walked over to the bed.

Bella had turned over and was facing the ceiling. Her head turned towards Tabitha.

Slowly, Bella opened her eyes and sat up. She grabbed Tabitha and placed her on her lap.

She lifted her up and rubbed their noses together.

"What time is it?" She asked when she put Tabitha back down on her lap.

"8 pm. Are you hungry? I got food."

Bella nodded and I passed her some food. She ate hungrily.

The rest of the night we just watched some TV and talked.

Tomorrow we will be going to see my parents.

* * *

_**The Next Day…** _

**BPOV**

We woke up at 7:30 am and got some breakfast. When we got back we packed our bags and called a taxi.

That's where we are now. Jasper is holding Tabitha. I can sense that he is nervous about seeing his parents. I honestly think it will be fine. I talked to Peter about it and he said that his parents told him that they thought I was a good match for Jasper.

When the taxi stopped, Jasper paid and we took our bags and got out.

Jasper passed Tabitha to me and we walked to the door together.

He knocked on the door and a few moments later Darlene opened the door, Chester was standing beside her.

Jasper didn't say anything for a minute and I could sense he wasn't going to.

I subtly elbowed Jasper in the ribs and stuck my hand out.

"Mrs Whitlock, Mr Whitlock, nice to see you again."

They both greeted me and shook my hand.

Darlene ushered us in and we sat in the sitting room.

It was awkward. Darlene excused herself and went to make coffee for all of us.

So it was just Chester. He was staring at Jasper with a calculating look. Jasper looked uncomfortable, he had his head down and was avoiding eye contact.

When Darlene came back in she could obviously sense the tension. She placed the coffee down and I thanked her.

"So… How have you both been?"

That seemed to cut through the tension and let us all relax.

We talked to Chester and Darlene about everything. About Maria, Jacob, Tabitha, mine and Jasper's relationship and my family.

Darlene and I had left Jasper and Chester alone and we talked about Tabitha. We also talked about me and Jasper. She told me that she approved of me and was glad that Jasper was happy and that he found me. She also told me that she had sorted out a room for us and that we were welcome to stay.

When I came in from the kitchen, from the look on his face, I gathered Chester had told Jasper the same thing.

We had dinner with them and continued talking.

By the time we said goodnight we were both exhausted.

We crawled into the bed and Jasper held me close.

"I'm glad that went well," I whispered.

"So am I."

"I love you, Jasper."

"I love you too, Bella."

I drifted off to sleep, wrapped in love and happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really like how the next chapter was written and so there might be a delay in me posting it because of this. I really hope that there won't be but I just wanted to let you guys know in case that does happen.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> TTE (Bethany) :)


	18. Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: Time Jump! It's now Christmas Eve.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I'm just borrowing the characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the delay. School has been really busy. Thankfully, this is the last week and next week it is the summer holidays. My posting schedule is going to be every Friday and I will try to uphold that but I can't make any promises.
> 
> Thank you and stay safe,
> 
> TTE (Bethany) :)

* * *

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others." **— Bob Hope**

* * *

**BPOV**

The lights from the moon illuminated the massive garden, reflecting off the snow. It was still lightly snowing. It was cold, but not too cold.

We always wait until it's dark and then we go out and have a competition to see who can build the best snowman. It's a family tradition. We are split into two teams.

Males vs females. Well, sort of. There is an uneven number because Char isn't taking part and there are more guys. So it's an all-female team plus Randall and Toshiro.

Everyone is taking part except Darlene, Char and Tabitha. They are sitting on the bench and talking. Darlene is holding Tabitha and Char is talking to her.

"Ready… Steady… Go!"

We all scrambled to collect as much snow as we could. Ali was tasked with finding sticks and rocks for the face. Rose was using the shovel and piling the snow. The rest of us were making the actual snowman.

I looked over and saw Jasper also trying to collect snow. The men were all taking it so seriously, the looks of concentration on their faces were almost too funny.

I saw a perfect stick on the ground near a tree. I looked around to see if anyone else saw it.

Emmett and I made eye contact.

It was a full-on sprint to get the stick. He got there before I did and snatched it up. He held it above his head triumphantly.

He didn't notice the branches above his head and when he held the stick up he knocked the branches.

Snow fell all over him. He dropped the stick with a yelp, exclaiming,

"It's down my back!" He was jumping around, trying to get it out. I laughed and grabbed the stick, running back to our snowman.

Rose was pushing the stones into its face and I put the stick in its side, creating the arm.

I took a step back. It actually looked pretty good. The arms were even and the rock smile looked good. It was quite tall and looked pretty solid.

I looked over to the men. Their snowman was pretty much the same as ours except for the little dinky arms.

I told them as much. The rest of my team laughed and agreed with the assessment.

We were too preoccupied laughing to notice them all crafting snowballs.

I looked up just in time to see a snowball sailing towards my face.

I tried to dodge, but it was too late. The snowball hit my face and I felt the cold sting.

I wiped my eyes and I saw Jasper smirking at me.

Two could play at that game. I looked at the rest of my team and could see that they were thinking the same thing as I was.

I scooped up a handful of snow and crafted it into a snowball.

Garrett saw what we were all doing and shouted,

"Snowball fight!"

Mayhem ensued.

Kate was using our snowman for cover and was making all the snowballs for us to grab. Alistair was hitting us with master precision. All the parents took a step back and made their way to the porch but not before they hit us at least once. Peter was whooping and teamed up with Jasper.

They took this very seriously. I hit Jasper in the face and smirked at him. He responded by hitting me in the leg.

We continued like this for a while until Esme called, telling us she had hot chocolate ready.

Jasper put his hands up in surrender and I walked over to him. He pulled me in for a kiss.

We stood there kissing in the snow until Peter called out,

"Hurry up, the hot chocolate is going to get cold!"

We laughed and made our way inside.

We kicked off our boots at the door and took off our hats, jackets and gloves. We put them on a radiator to dry.

We walked into the kitchen and each grabbed a mug of hot chocolate.

Everyone was making their way into the living room.

There was a fire roaring in the hearth.

Ed, Ali, Rose and Em were on one couch. Kate and Garrett were on the love seat. Char, Pete, Darlene and Chester were on another couch.

The rest of us were all spread out around the room.

Jasper grabbed Tabitha and we sat on cushions on the floor.

I took off my socks and put them in front of the fire to dry.

What better movie to watch than 'A Christmas Carol'?

I leaned into Jasper's side and watched the movie.

At about 8 pm, we had dinner.

We had some lasagna. Tomorrow is when we have a big meal so tonight is only a small one.

It was really nice. We all sat down at the dinner table and talked and laughed.

Afterwards, we all had some mulled wine. Well, Char didn't have any.

We all went to our rooms at around 12:30 am.

I was very tired and so was Jasper. Tabitha, however, was wide awake.

We got into our pyjamas and brushed our teeth.

When we got into bed and put Tabitha into her cot but she didn't get the memo to get to sleep. She was trying to pull herself up and hitting the bars.

Jasper sighed and got up. He took her out of the cot and put her in bed with us. He got in and put her in between us. She started to quiet when he did that.

"Merry Christmas, darlin'."

"Merry Christmas, Jas."

He looked down, "Merry Christmas, Tabitha May."

* * *

_**Christmas Day!** _

**JPOV**

I woke up to Tabitha slapping my face. I sat up and held her and checked my phone.

It was 9:30 am.

It was another 10 minutes before Bella started to wake up.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She put her head on my shoulder and grabbed Tabitha.

We sat like that for another 10 minutes until Bella said that she was going for a shower.

When she came back out she had a clean pair of pyjamas on and her hair was in a high ponytail.

I quickly jumped into the shower and put on a pair of old joggers and an old t-shirt.

Bella had changed Tabitha and now she was in a little reindeer costume.

Bella was now taking pictures of Tabitha and tickling her chin.

We went down to the kitchen.

Alistair and Riley were there and so were Esme, Renee, Charlie, Carlisle, Spencer, momma and daddy.

Bella sat down and fed Tabitha. I got to making us both a cup of coffee.

Charlie was also making a cup.

"Merry Christmas, Jasper." He gave me a pat on the back.

"You too, Charlie." He nodded and walked back to the table with cups of coffee for himself, Spencer, Esme and Renee. Carlisle never has coffee, he says something about his blood pressure.

"Momma, daddy, do you want a cup?" I asked them both, turning around.

"That would be great, Jasper," Momma replied.

I sat back down beside Bella with 4 cups. I slid one over to her, she thanked me and cleaned Tabitha's face.

Peter and Char were next in. Peter sat down beside me and gave me a pat on the back,

"Merry Christmas, brother."

"Merry Christmas, Pete, Char."

We fell into an easy conversation.

Bella was talking to Char, Alistair and Riley.

Edward and Ali were next.

Ali looked very excited. She was jumping around and was chirpy.

Edward sat down in front of us.

"She loves Christmas." He rolled his eyes in fake exasperation.

"We can tell." Pete chuckled. We looked over at her and saw her excitedly chatting to Esme and Carlisle.

"She never had any Christmases growing up. She was put into the asylum when she was 5 but even before that her family never gave her any attention or gave her any gifts or anything of that sort. Hell, she was surprised when we celebrated Christmas with her and gave her presents. When we gave her the first present she just burst into tears. She didn't think that she deserved it." Edward finished and looked down at his hands.

Ali came around the back of him and kissed the side of his cheek,

"You ok, Edward?"

Edward turned his face to her.

"Yeah, Ali, I'm fine. Better than fine." He smiled and gave her a kiss.

She left after that and sat down beside Bella.

Em and Rose came in next.

"Merry Christmas, Rose, Emmett," I said.

Rose thanked me and went to speak to Ali and Bella. Emmett came and sat beside Edward.

"Thanks, Jasper. You too."

Everyone else slowly trickled in.

There was a knock at the door and Carlisle went to open it.

He walked back into the kitchen with Leah, Seth and Sue Clearwater following him.

Ali stood up.

"What a nice surprise! What brings you here?" She rushed over and grabbed them each into a hug.

"We're just here to say thank you to you all for what you did for us and to give you this."

Leah passed a neatly wrapped box to Ali.

Bella passed Tabitha to me and she gave them each a hug.

"There is no need to thank us. Would you like to stay for a while?"

"Oh um, we actually can't. We're going over to Claire's." Seth told us.

"Tell them we all wish them a merry Christmas!" Ali enthusiastically said.

"OK, well we have to go now. Again, thanks a lot."

We all wished them a merry Christmas and said goodbye.

"Well that was unexpected," Carlisle said as he put the present under the tree.

We all agreed.

It was 11 am when we moved to the sitting room.

We all got comfortable and Spencer was the person passing the presents around.

There were too many presents to fit under the tree so they were all stacked around it.

The first gift was to Esme from Rose and Em.

Esme ripped off the wrapping paper.

It was an at-home spa set with bath things.

"Oh, thank you!" She gave them both a hug.

Next, it was Carlisle. It was the Fitbit we got him. He thanked us and gave us a hug.

Esme and Renee teared up at the 'family tree'.

We gave my momma a 'best grandmother' frame with a picture of her and Tabitha. She cried and thanked us both for it.

We also gave the same to Renee and she had the same reaction.

Spencer only got presents for Char, Peter and their baby. He gave Char a baby sling so she can walk around with the baby but still use her hands. He gave Peter a baby monitor which Peter thanked him profusely for because he forgot to buy one. Finally, for the baby he gave a box with books he read to Char and toys that also used to belong to Char. She cried and thanked him, telling him that it was such a thoughtful gift.

Char and Peter gave him a new phone. He has been meaning to get one for months.

Char and Peter got lots of baby things. They laughed at the dad joke book and Char cried at the keepsake box. She gave Bella a massive hug.

Everyone liked the presents we got them. Riley was very excited at the coffee maker. Emmett thought that the rowing boat thing was hilarious.

We gave Tabitha a pink elephant with 'Baby's First Christmas' written on it. She waved it around and babbled. She got a lot of new things from everyone. Lots of blankets and clothes and a few books and toys.

I gave Bella the necklace and a printer that works via Bluetooth. She can print whatever pictures she wants straight from her phone. She got really excited about it and how it would be great for her scrapbook. She cried at the necklace and put it on.

Bella got me a guitar pick that says 'When Words Fail, Music Speaks' and a scrapbook. It has pictures of Tabitha, Peter, Char, Momma, Daddy, me and her. She says that she is going to add to it as the years go on.

We all talked for a while until Ali, Rose, Bella, Renee, Esme, Darlene and Char left to get the Christmas Dinner sorted.

* * *

**BPOV**

I was so happy with the necklace Jasper got me. I couldn't stop touching it. I was astonished that he left spaces for more names. It was beautiful.

We walked into the kitchen and Irina gave me a fierce hug.

"Thank you. It… means a lot." I hugged her back. She was talking about the gift I got her. Didyme and Marcus refused to take payment for it. It said 'Forever In Our Hearts Laurent Moreau Beloved Husband, Friend and Son' and then the dates.

She left the kitchen after and went to talk to Felix, Tanya, Garrett, Kate and Santiago.

I turned around and saw that Char was sitting down, watching as everyone started doing things.

I got tasked with peeling the carrots.

Char tried to help multiple times but was told to sit down by Darlene, Esme and mom.

When we had most of the food done/ cooking we went to see everyone else.

Jasper was reading to Tabitha and Peter was watching a movie with Garrett and Alistair.

We sat down and chilled for a bit until Carlisle suggested a family walk.

It was just Char, Peter, Jas, Rose, Ed, Em, Ali, mom, dad, Carlisle, Esme, Chester, Darlene, Spencer, Tabitha and I.

Jasper and I went up into our room to get changed. I changed into a white turtleneck sweater and jeans. There was still snow outside and it was pretty cold. I made sure Tabitha was warm and put her in the stroller.

When we got downstairs everyone was ready.

The parents were in the front and we were in the back. Jas was pushing Tabby.

Ali, Rose, Char and I fell behind our men.

"Just look at all of them," Char said.

"I mean just think, a few months ago we were all enemies and now, we are family."

The men were laughing and Em threw his arm around Jasper.

We really are a family.


	19. Happy New Year!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"I want to kiss your scars tonight." — **The Fray, Heartbeat**

* * *

**BPOV**

"Can you pass the gravy?"

I passed the gravy over to Char.

We were sitting down and eating Christmas Dinner. We got back from the family walk a few hours ago.

Tabitha had some mashed carrots, Jasper fed her.

When everyone was finished, the men got to cleaning. That's how it works. The women cook and the men clean up after.

They did it without complaint and the rest of us moved into the living room.

I put Tabitha on the floor. Rose, Ali, Kate, Tanya and Irina were sitting on the floor. I scooted down and leaned against the couch.

Rose gently clapped and Tabitha was making her way over.

She is in that stage when she can't quite crawl but she can move around. When she got closer to Rose, she was scooped up and Rose kissed her nose.

She put Tabitha back down and she started making her way over to Irina.

Irina looked really happy that Tabitha had 'chosen' her to crawl to.

When she got over, Irina also picked her up and gently swung her around.

This pattern continued until Tabitha, rather adorably, fell asleep mid-crawl.

The men came back in around this time and dad swooped her up and sat down with her.

Everyone sat down and got comfortable.

"So, where is everyone staying?" Spencer asked.

It turned out that everyone was going to their own houses except Spencer, Darlene, Chester, Santiago, Randall, Irina and Toshiro.

We talked for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Char and Peter left quite early. Darlene, Chester and Spencer followed.

Mom and dad offered to take Tabitha for which I was insanely grateful. Not that I didn't want Tabitha but it would be nice for some time alone with Jasper.

We all agreed to meet back at around 1:30 pm tomorrow.

Jasper and I loaded the truck with the presents we got.

We waved goodbye to everyone and drove to the house.

It was in comfortable silence.

We took all the presents in, we had to move quickly though because it was snowing and very cold.

Jasper locked the door and I took off my shoes, jacket, gloves and hat.

Jasper came up behind me and put his hands on my hips. I turned my head and he captured my lips.

The kiss started slow but it quickly became heated.

We broke for air and he turned me around so I was facing him.

"Do you want to do this?" He looked deeply into my eyes.

"Yes, Jasper, take me to bed."

He smirked a wolfish grin.

He lifted me up and with a yelp I locked my ankles around him.

He laughed.

"That was not funny."

"Oh, I think it was." He claimed my lips again and started making his way up the stairs.

He collapsed on the bed and I was on top. I was glad we got rid of the old mattress and completely redecorated the room.

He rolled us over so he was on top.

When we broke for air, he didn't waste any time and started pulling my sweater off. He threw it haphazardly behind him.

I knew that I shouldn't be but I felt very self-conscious. I tried covering my scar with my hands.

Jasper stopped.

He sat up and pulled me into his arms.

"Darlin', you have nothing to feel self-conscious about. I love you. All of you. That includes your scars. They are a part of you, no matter how they came to be."

I took a deep breath and moved my hands.

He kissed me and undid my bra.

I stood up and slipped my jeans and socks off so I was left in just my panties.

"You're so beautiful, Bella."

I pulled him up and undressed him until he was in just his boxers. His arousal was obvious. I pushed him down and straddled his chest. His hands went straight for my hips.

I leaned forward and kissed him. He rolled us so he was again, on top.

His hands ran all over me. I moaned into the kiss.

He broke the kiss but didn't leave me waiting as he attacked my neck.

He licked and sucked his way to my tits. He took one of my nipples into his mouth and sucked and grazed his teeth. He didn't forget about the other one and was pinching and rolling it.

"Oh, fuck, Jasper." I was panting by the time he moved on.

I was surprised when he made his way down following the scar. He kissed and licked all the way to my panties.

Instead of going to where I wanted him, he started kissing up my thighs.

"Jas," I whined.

He just smirked against my skin. He knew what he was doing to me.

He ran his hand up my legs and pulled my panties down.

"Oh, fuck, you're perfect."

He dove right in, licking and sucking.

The coil inside my belly was getting tighter and tighter.

"Oh, Jas."

"Come for me, baby."

With that, the coil snapped and I saw stars.

"Fuck, Jas," I moaned through my first orgasm of the night.

I didn't know when, but he had taken off his boxers and was completely naked.

He was definitely impressive, bigger than Jacob. Was it going to fit? Rationally, I knew that it would but Jas was only the second guy I have been with.

He must have seen something on my face because he paused.

"Are you alright, darlin'?"

"It's.. nothing." I looked away and blushed.

"Bella, baby, look at me."

I slowly turned and looked into his eyes.

"We can go as slowly as you like. We can even stop here if you like."

"No, I'm fine. I… definitely don't want to stop."

He nodded and then kissed me again I could feel his erection pressing against me.

"Jas... fuck me."

"Of course."

He rummaged through the bedside drawer and found a condom. He slipped it on and lined up with me.

"I love you."

Slowly, he pushed in.

I definitely felt stretched but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

"Fuck, you're so tight, better than I could've imagined."

He filled me completely and waited until I moved my hips to start moving.

This wasn't just sex, this was making love. Raw and passionate.

I could tell when he was close because he threw my leg over his shoulder and pounded in.

"Come on baby, come with me."

His hand snaked in between us and frantically rubbed my clit in little circles.

I came screaming his name, he followed after me, shouting out my name in return.

He collapsed on top of me but quickly moved over. He didn't pull out.

He pulled me onto his naked chest and stroked my hair.

We fell asleep like that, connected and worn out.

We woke up once in the middle of the night and went again, this time it was hard and fast.

We got up at 10 am. Jasper made scrambled eggs and we talked all through breakfast.

We went to pick up Tabitha at 11 am.

"Good morning mom, dad." I gave them both a hug and mom passed Tabby to me.

"And good morning to you too, Tabby."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and passed her to Jasper and he also gave her a kiss.

The rest of the week continued in much of the same fashion. We would all meet up at the estate and talk for the day. Before I knew it, it was New Year's Eve.

_**New Year's Eve** _

We are all sitting outside, it isn't too cold out. Dad, Carlisle, Chester and Spencer are setting out the fireworks. It is 11:32 pm.

Edward and Emmett are nervous wrecks. They are planning to propose just as the year changes and then dad and Carlisle will light the fireworks after Rose and Ali say yes.

I am tasked with getting Rose and Ali to stand in the right place.

Kate is filming/ taking pictures because she's a photographer and her new year's resolution is to get back into photography.

The only people that don't know about the proposal are Rose, Ali, mom and Esme.

It's 11:40 pm.

"So, any new year's resolutions?" Jasper was holding Tabby and he passed her to me.

"I don't know. Do you have any?"

He slipped his arm around my waist.

"Not really. I have everything I want right here." He pulled me closer.

"So do I." I leaned up and kissed him.

"Aw, you guys are so cute!"

We pulled away and saw Kate was looking at her camera. She showed us the picture she took.

Jasper's arm was around my waist and I was holding Tabitha. I was on my tiptoes and smiling into the kiss. Kate said she would get it printed for us.

11:47 pm.

I went to talk to Char, she was the only one sitting.

"How many days until you become a mother?"

She wearily sighed, "Supposed to be here on the 20th of January. I don't think I can wait that long!"

I laughed with her.

"But we were told that because both of us were born slightly premature then there is a chance this baby could be."

"Are you worried about that?"

"Not really. Even though we were both premature we didn't have any problems. You better go get Rose and Ali, it's 11:54 pm."

"OK, thanks, Char."

I walked into the house. Rose and Ali were talking and sipping on glasses of wine.

I ushered them out and got them standing in the right place.

"Bella, why do you want us to stand here?" Rose asked.

"Just wait, I need to get something."

I walked back to Jasper and passed Tabitha to him. Everyone was standing behind Rose and Ali.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

"Happy New Year!"

Jasper kissed me and when we broke the kiss, we saw Edward and Emmett walking in front of Ali and Rose.

They both got on one knee at the same time.

Edward started first,

"Mary Alice Cullen, I promise to love you every moment of forever. Would you do me the extraordinary honour of marrying me?"

Alice was crying and one hand was covering her mouth.

"Yes. A million yeses!"

One of the fireworks was lit as Edward slid the ring onto Ali's finger and gave her a hug and a kiss.

They stood back. It was Emmett's turn.

"Rosalie Lillian Cullen. I never believed in love at first sight until I met you. You are my angel and I couldn't imagine living without you. Will you marry me?"

"I love you, Emmett. Of course, I'll marry you."

Emmett stood up and swung her around. A firework was lit as Em slid the ring on her finger.

Em, Ali, Rose and Edward stood in a line and Kate took a picture as a firework went off.

We congratulated them all and I went to get all the drinks. Rose came in with me.

"You knew!" She pointed at me and narrowed her eyes jokingly.

"Of course I knew." I laughed and passed her some glasses.

We passed the glasses around and we all toasted to Ali and Ed and Rose and Em.

Ali and Rose showed Kate, Tanya, Irina, Char, Darlene, Esme, mom and I the rings.

Rose's was beautiful and dainty. It was a silver band with amethysts on. The amethysts were the same colour as her eyes.

Ali's looked more vintage. It was a silver band with a white diamond on it.

They both suited them perfectly. They loved them and kept looking at them.

I went to give Ed and Em a hug.

Em grabbed me in a bear hug, "Thank you, Bels."

I laughed, "I didn't do anything."

Edward grabbed me in a smaller hug, "I'm just glad she said yes."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course she said yes!"

Edward laughed with me.

"That was some speech, Edwin." Garrett patted him on the back.

"I've told you to stop calling me that," Edward grumbled.

"Not gonna happen. I've told you when I give a nickname it sticks. Can't do anything about that. I'm serious though, that was a nice speech."

"Thanks, Gar."

Gar gave him a pat on the back and walked back to Kate. Jas came and put his arm around my waist. I took Tabitha from him.

Ali and Rose came and Ed and Em also put their arms around their waists.

Mom, dad, Carlisle and Esme came over to talk to us.

Mom smiled, "Now all of my children are getting married."

I probably wasn't as shocked as I should be. I knew that Jasper was the one for me and we will marry eventually. The question really isn't _if_ we will get married, it is _when_.

Jasper gently squeezed my face and I looked up into his smiling face.

We drank and talked for the rest of the night/ day.

We got home at 4 am and just about managed to get Tabby changed before we collapsed in bed.

I woke up at 10 am to an empty bed and a massive headache.

Tabby wasn't in her cot. I rolled over and saw that on the bedside table there was a glass of water and an Advil.

I smiled, sat up and drank the water and took the Advil.

Jas came in about 20 minutes later with Tabitha, he passed her to me and then he came back in minutes later with breakfast in bed.

He sat down next to me and we shared. He made enough for us both.

We talked about what we were doing today.

"This is a really good way to spend New Year's Day." I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Definitely. I have both my girls with me. This is the best way to start the year."

"I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us."

"As long we're together, as a family, it will be a great year."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is one of the last chapters! Up next is 2 epilogues.


	20. Epilogue 1 - Will You Marry Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the delay, I hope you like this chapter though.
> 
> Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"I wanna marry you because you're the first person I wanna look at when I wake up in the morning, and the only one I wanna kiss goodnight. Because the first time that I saw these hands, I couldn't imagine not being able to hold them." **— Definitely, Maybe**

* * *

_**February 14th, Valentine's Day. 1 Year Later…** _

**BPOV**

It's Valentine's Day and Jasper and I are in Maui, Hawaii. Tabitha is staying with my mom and dad.

A lot has happened in a year.

Firstly, Charlotte gave birth to a little boy, Jackson Lewis Whitlock on the 4th of January. Tabitha and he are only 8 months apart. She absolutely adores him, they are always together. Char is pregnant again and is due on the 31st of May.

Secondly, Rose is 5 and a half months pregnant with a girl. Her and Em have been trying to get pregnant for years and they have managed to once before but sadly, they lost the baby. They were losing hope but then they found out they were pregnant. Em was over the moon at the news he was going to have a daughter.

Alice is 4 months pregnant with twins.

Alice and Edward got married on the 24th of June. Rose and Em got married on the 16th of August.

Randall and Toshiro moved to Cali. Santiago and Irina became a couple. They moved to France.

Lastly and most excitingly, I'm pregnant… with twins. I'm 3.5 months along and my due date is July 31st. Tabitha is excited to be getting 2 more siblings. She pats my belly and talks to them.

Jasper is ecstatic. We don't have any names picked out yet. I've never seen him this happy. He always talks to the babies.

We have also been talking about when we are going to tell Tabitha about Maria. We have decided to wait until she is older but tell her the complete truth.

We have been in Maui for 2 days and are staying another 4.

We've got a beach cabin thing. We've done a few hiking trails but Jasper says I can't do anything too strenuous. I've told him I'm pregnant, not an invalid, but he doesn't listen. It's definitely very sweet.

Currently, we are walking along the beach. I'm wearing a flowy summer dress and (since we are walking through the water) holding my sandals. Jasper is wearing shorts and a shirt.

"So, what are we going to do today?" I asked Jasper.

"I have a few things planned."

"And what would that include?"

"Well, it does involve a romantic meal on the beach."

"Really?"

"Yep."

He stuck to his word and later that night after the sun went down, we had a romantic meal.

It was really nice. The sun had set and the moonlight reflected off of the sea.

We were the only people on the beach. Since our cabin is on the beach, the table is just in front of it.

The table had candles on and the food was delicious.

"This is really nice."

"Had to do something nice for the mother of my children."

I smiled. We talked all through the meal.

At the end, Jasper said that he needed to tell me something. I told him to go on.

Jasper got down on one knee.

"Bella, I love everything about you. How you so easily accepted Tabitha and me. You let me in and trusted me when you didn't have to. I've been with you in your weakest and strongest moments. You know everything about my past and somehow, you love me. You're the mother of my children and my best friend. So I'm asking you if you would be my wife as well. Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" I jumped up and he slid the ring on my finger.

He grabbed me and kissed me. I broke the kiss and he put his forehead against mine.

"I love you, Jasper Andrew Whitlock," I whispered.

"I love you too, Bella."

He grabbed me in his arms and walked to the bedroom, he put me on the and helped me undress. He quickly followed.

He crawled up the bed and kissed me passionately.

He worked his way down to my sensitive nipples, teasing moans out of me.

He moved lower. When he got to my bump he stopped and kissed it.

Quickly, he moved on and got to where I wanted him most. I was already wet and ready. He licked my pussy lips.

"Jasper," I whined, wriggling my hips. He put his hands on my thighs, stopping me from moving.

Slowly, teasingly, he licked my entrance.

"Bella, baby, you taste so good."

He lapped at my juices and sucked on my clit. He then inserted one, then two fingers.

"Jas, I'm gonna…" I came shouting his name.

He let go of my legs and moved back up, claiming my mouth. I could taste myself on his tongue and it just turned me on even more.

"Jas wanna ride you."

He smirked and got himself situated. I climbed onto him and he gripped my hips as I slid down his length.

I threw my head back and let out a long moan when he was fully sheathed.

I started moving and Jas let me move at my own pace.

"Yes, baby, fuck."

His hands snaked up my body and found my nipples, he played with them as I started to move faster.

I was close but I couldn't quite get there, I twisted and turned until I found that spot inside of me.

"I'm close."

"So am I baby." He took control then and pounded up into me, his hand was frantically rubbing my clit and suddenly, I came with a cry.

He came soon after and I felt his hot seed filling me.

I collapsed beside him.

"You're the one for me, Bella, I love you."

"I love you too." I leaned in for a languid kiss.

I had to pull away because one of the babies were pushing on my bladder.

"Sorry, gotta go pee." He chuckled as I got up to go to the bathroom.

I did my business and came back out.

We made love two more times before we both collapsed.

In the morning, I texted Ali and Rose with a picture of the ring. It was beautiful and dainty, definitely my style.

We spent the rest of our time away on the beach or in bed. I called everyone and they all congratulated us. We decided that we are going to get married before the babies get here, sometime around mid May.

When we got back, Tabitha ran up to us (as well as a nearly 2 year old could run) and Jasper scooped her up,

"Daddy!"

"Hello, Tabby."

She started wiggling so Jasper put her down. She ran over to me and she grabbed onto my legs,

"Mommy."

I couldn't scoop her up so Jasper did and then passed her to me.

"Hello, baby. Did you behave for grandma and grandpa?"

"Hmmm, yah." I kissed her on the cheek.

"Did she behave?" I asked mom.

"Of course she did! Now, let me see that ring!" I laughed and Jasper took Tabby.

"That's beautiful," Mom gave me a hug.

"I knew you two were going to get married. I knew it the moment I saw you together." I blushed, Jasper laughed and put one arm around my waist.

"Mommy, hungry."

"OK, baby, let's get you home and then we'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you so much for looking after her, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Bels. We are always here to help." I hugged dad and drove home.

We had completely redecorated the house. I loved it, we turned it from the house Jasper shared with Maria to a home that we could raise our family in.

Tabitha has her room two rooms down and the nursery is beside ours.

It was a nice feeling to finally be back home after a week away.

Jasper fixed up something for her to eat and I sat on the couch.

"Babies." Tabitha climbed up the couch and touched my stomach. I rolled up my t-shirt so she could see my belly.

"Yes, babies." She gently patted it and pressed a sloppy kiss on it.

"Tabby, guess what?"

"What?" She had her head on my stomach.

"Mommy and daddy are getting married."

"That's good."

Tabitha was beautiful. She has black curly hair and the same steel grey eyes as Jasper. She was always smiling.

"Are you excited to meet the babies?"

She laughed, "Yah."

Jasper came in and took Tabitha to eat.

I texted Rose, Char, Kate, Riley and Ali. I invited them over to talk. They all said they could be here tomorrow.

Tabitha and Jasper came back 10 minutes later.

We spent the rest of the day lazing around as a family.

Rose, Char, Kate and Ali came around at 1 pm. We all just chatted about being pregnant and Jasper's proposal. Char brought Jackson with her and him and Tabitha were playing. Riley was watching over playing with them.

The men all left to have some guy time.

"When are you getting married?" Char asked me.

"We haven't decided on a date but we're thinking sometime around mid-may after Tab turns 2. Hopefully, none of us will give birth too close to the time."

"That sounds like a great idea! We will all help with the planning and all that." Ali told me.

"So, any baby names?"

"Well we were thinking Sophia Elizabeth. It sounds nice and I've always wanted a little girl called Sophia." Rose said. It was a really nice name.

"We don't know what it's gonna be but if it's a boy we were thinking Harrison Jay." Char told us.

"We really haven't thought of any names yet." I told everyone.

"Same as Bella. We've been so busy and haven't had the time to think about any names." Ali said.

We spoke for the rest of the day until everyone had to leave.

The following weeks passed in a blur. We had planned the wedding. It was going to be at his parents barn in Texas on the 15th of May. We also decided it's going to be a medium ish wedding. There are about 128 guests.

Tabitha is going to be the flower girl, she is really excited. Kate, Rose, Ali and Char are going to be the bridesmaids and Riley is going to be my man of honour. Peter, Garrett, Edward, Emmett and Alistair are going to be the groomsmen.

We now know the gender of the babies, both of them are boys. Tabitha was really excited about getting two brothers and Jasper was happy to be getting sons. I was also happy that I would get to have a daughter and two sons.

It's now the 27th of April and Emmett called and told us that Rose had gone into labour. This was worrying as she's 35 weeks pregnant, so basically a month early.

We rushed over, we had to take Tabby with us because we had no one to give her to, luckily she was well behaved.

Rose was in labour for 6 hours and gave birth to a baby girl on the 28th April at 1:33 am. Sophia Elizabeth Swan weighed 5 pounds 1 ounce. She was definitely tiny but beautiful. She had to be put in the NICU. Em and Rose were in love. I could already tell she would have Em wrapped around her little finger.

We celebrated Tabitha's second birthday shortly after that on the 8th of May.

Before I knew it, it was the night before my wedding. My last night of being single.

We didn't really do much. Mainly because we couldn't drink. It was strange not seeing Jasper but I did have Tabitha.

The morning was chaotic, to say the least. Everyone was running about to get all the final things sorted.

Tabitha looked beautiful in her little dress and with her hair up in pigtails. She knew what to do and was excited.

My dress was also beautiful, it had an open back and sleeves. My baby bump was obvious but it didn't take away from the dress, Ali said it just added to it. Char gave me the veil from her wedding for 'something borrowed'. My dress was 'something new'.

Char recommended a girl called Angela and her boyfriend, Ben, to be the photographers. We chose them and so they're taking all the pictures.

"Are you ready, Bella?" Rose poked her head in.

Ali was doing the finishing touches on my makeup. Char was talking to me because I was nervous. Mom and dad walked in,

"We have something for you." Ali told me the makeup was done and I stood up to talk to mom and dad.

"This comb belonged to my mother. We put sapphires in it so it's 'something old' and 'something blue'." Mom told me to sit down and she put it in my hair.

"It's beautiful, Bels."

"Thanks dad."

"We need to get into position. See you soon, Bels." Char, Ali and Rose left.

"My baby girl is all grown up!" Mom gave me a hug and then left.

I walked with dad and we got into position.

Where we were standing we could see Tabitha walking up the aisle but couldn't see Jasper. Everyone else was already there. I could see Ali's barely contained excitement and had to smile. Riley also looked excited.

There were lots of 'aws' as Tabby walked down, throwing rose petals.

"You ready, Bels?"

"Just, don't let me fall, dad."

"Never."

Then, it was our turn. We chose the song, 'A Thousand Years' for when I walked down the aisle. I heard the piano and cello and waited for a few seconds. Then we started to walk.

I looked up at dad and I could see the tears in his eyes.

I scanned the crowd. Obviously all the CSW people were here and Jasper's parents but there were other people too. Seth and Leah Clearwater and their mother, Sue. Rachel, Embry, Paul, Quil and Claire. Spencer was also here.

Esme was holding Sophia and Darlene was holding Jackson.

All the bridesmaids and groomsmen looked perfect too. Everyone smiled at me and Riley gave me a little thumbs up.

Carlisle is the officinator and he nodded at me.

The moment I saw Jasper I wanted to run to him but instead I walked slowly and took the time to study him.

He was as handsome as when I first laid my eyes on him. His hair was perfect and looked the same as when I had first met him. His grey eyes were sparkling with happiness. He looked amazing in a suit.

Dad gave me to Jasper when we reached him.

We wrote our own vows and Jasper went first,

"Bella, you know me better than anyone else in this world and somehow still you manage to love me. I would do anything for you, including getting our remote from across the room, even if it was not I who placed the remote so very far away. You are my best friend and one true love. There is still a part of me today that cannot believe that I'm the one who gets to marry you."

I was crying by the end and I took a deep breath before I began saying my vows,

"Jasper, I have to catch my breath to believe this is real, that I am marrying my true love, my heart's desire, and my best friend. My commitment to you is one I've given willingly, absolutely, and without hesitation. I am yours utterly and have been since the moment we met. We were married before this day and will always be."

Jasper slipped the ring onto my finger and mine his.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

I leaned up and kissed him, he smiled into the kiss and everyone erupted into applause.

We walked down the aisle together, as husband and wife.

The reception went well. Tabitha said her own speech when Jasper went up to say his. He help her on his hip and she talked into the microphone,

"I really liked being the flower girl. Mommy and daddy are very happy and I love them and my brothers."

I teared up when she said that.

Our first dance song was 'Honeybee' by The Head and the Heart.

"I love you, Jasper."

"I love you too."

We danced through the whole song.

After that everyone else came up to dance. Tabitha wanted to dance with Jasper so I sat down and talked to Riley and Alistair.

"We're so happy for you, Bella."

"Thanks, Ri, I'm really happy. I can't believe I'm married."

I really couldn't.

Happy wasn't a strong enough word for what I was feeling. I was surrounded by my friends, family and husband.

Today was the best day of my life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I really hope you like this chapter.
> 
> The 'A Thousand Year' instrumental is a cover by ThePianoGuys, I would highly recommend listening to it.
> 
> Honeybee is also a great song.
> 
> Finally, there will be a delay in the final chapter/ epilogue because I'm not going to be able to access my computer to write on. Really sorry for the inconvenience.
> 
> Anyways, stay safe and WEAR A MASK,
> 
> TTE (Bethany) :)


	21. Epilogue 2 - 20 Years Later...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

"A wise man once told me, 'family don't end in blood.' But it doesn't start there either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family is there, for the good, bad, all of it. They got your back, even when it hurts. That's family." **— Supernatural**

* * *

**20 Years Later…**

**BPOV**

"Happy 20th anniversary, darlin'." Jasper kissed me on the cheek and held my hand as we sat on the porch swing. Watching the sunrise.

I put my head on this shoulder, "A lot has happened in 20 years."

It was true, a lot has happened.

Shortly after our wedding, Char gave birth to another boy, Harrison Jay Whitlock on the 24th of May. Alice gave birth on the 18th of June to twins. Cynthia Grace and Christopher Ryan Swan.

I gave birth to my baby boys on the 24th of July. They are identical twins. Alexander Thomas and Benjamin Arthur Whitlock.

Tabitha was so happy with her brothers. Jasper and I were absolutely in love.

In the following years, there were lots of additions to the family. Jasper and I welcomed another little girl, Matilda Jane. We call her Tilly for short.

Garrett and Kate have Sasha Andrea and Casey Rose. Casey is the youngest of all the kids.

Alistair and Riley adopted a little girl, Brianna (Bree) Oliva. Ri and Al got married shortly before adopting her and Riley became Riley Bradley. Bradley being Alistair's real last name. They moved to England.

Felix and Tanya have a boy, Vasilii Vincent. We don't see much of them because they still live in Slovakia. Vasilii speaks mostly Slovak and only speaks a bit of English.

Tabby is a mechanical engineer. We told Tabitha about Maria when she was 13. She reacted pretty well. We answered all the questions she asked. It warmed my heart when she gave me a hug and told her that I was her mom, not Maria and she loves me.

Alex and Ben are pilots and Tilly is studying architecture in hopes of one day becoming an architect.

Sophia is also studying architecture.

Jackson is working on Darlene and Chester's ranch and Harry is a chef.

Chris is following in Edward and Carlisle's footsteps and is a doctor. Cynthia is a fashion designer just like Alice.

Sasha is in her last year of high school and Casey is a junior.

Bree is travelling the world with her best friend, Jodelle.

Vasilii is going to be a lawyer.

Kate and Garrett got married.

Irina and Santiago are still in France, they occasionally visit. They are in a long term relationship.

Randall settled down with a woman called Mary in California.

Toshiro is happy being single, he lives near Randall.

Demetri and Heidi got married shortly after us but it didn't last. Heidi cheated on him. Demetri was devastated. He travelled around Egypt on his own before going back to his hometown in Greece. Heidi stayed in Germany.

Afton and Chelsea are still together.

Diego sadly died around 14 years ago. His cause of death was brain cancer.

Once all the kids moved out of the house, Jasper and I travelled around the US. We only recently got back. Currently, we are at our house in Washington.

"The kids are coming around to celebrate our anniversary," I told Jasper.

"At the meeting-house?" That's what we call the estate because it is used for most meetings.

"Yep. Everyone is going to be there."

We had a big family but we make it work. We can't all be here for all occasions because of work and school but we all meet up at least once a year.

Jasper and I went inside and had breakfast.

After that, we went to the meeting house. Santiago, Irina, Spencer, Darlene, Chester, Tanya, Vasilli and Felix were staying at the house.

Randall, Toshiro, Afton, Chelsea, Bree and Demetri can't be here.

We drove to the estate. We got to the house at the same time as Alex and Ben. You can tell the difference because Alex has a scar above his right eyebrow from when he fell off his bike as a child.

"Hey, momma." Alex gave me a hug.

"How are you, Alex?"

"I'm fine, momma."

Jasper was talking to Ben.

"How are you, Benny?" I gave Ben a hug.

"I'm great. Works going well. We usually fly together."

We talked outside for a few minutes. Tilly and Sophia came together. They go to the same college.

We all went inside and waited until everyone got there.

It was 1 pm when everyone finally arrived.

We talked and reminisced about when we all first met.

At about 6 pm we all went to a restaurant.

We actually own the restaurant. Jane and Alec are servers and we make sure to pay them well.

We had to sit on multiple tables but that was ok.

I was on a table with Jasper and the kids.

The kids were telling us about their jobs and school.

We were having our dessert, "Do you remember what you said at our wedding, Tabby?"

"Yes, mom. I said 'I love being the flower girl and I love mommy and daddy and my brothers'."

We laughed and continued talking.

We left as a big group and Garrett came over to talk to us.

"Hey, Baby T, MJ, Xand, 'min."

Tabitha jokingly rolled her eyes, "Gar! I've told you to not call me that."

"Sorry, Baby T. Already told you, when I give a nickname it sticks. JayJay knows what I'm talking about."

It was Jasper's turn to roll his eyes.

We went back to the meeting house and mom, dad, Carlisle, Esme, Chester, Darlene and Spencer left. They went to stay at mom and dad's so the rest of us had the house to ourselves.

We got back and after we all settled Alistair got us some whiskey. He gave some to Tilly before I reminded him that the drinking age is 21 here. The drinking age is 18 in England.

The rest of the night was spent talking and drinking. The younger kids left and went to stay in the spare rooms.

I looked around and felt so lucky that I have such an amazing family.

Jasper, my amazing husband that has been my rock. He has always been with me, through the good and bad times.

My kids. I love them all unconditionally. They bring me so much joy.

My brothers, sisters and best friends. My family.

I realised that family doesn't mean people related by blood. It means people you trust completely and would do anything for.

All these people have been there when I need them and I have been there for them. Through the good and bad.

We started as rival gangs but now, 20 years later, we are a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The end!
> 
> I honestly didn't think I would get to this point. I have been writing this story all through quarantine and it has really given me something to do.
> 
> I hope you like this ending, I know it's short but I think it needed to be like that.
> 
> A big thank you to everyone who gave kudos and read this story.
> 
> On another note, I'm working on two new Twilight fanfics. I'm halfway way through one of them so keep your eyes open for that. They are both Jasper/Bella pairings.
> 
> I'm also working on 2 GoT stories and one BTVS. So if you are interested in that also keep your eyes open.
> 
> Thank you for bearing with me through my crazy posting schedule.
> 
> Stay safe and wear a mask,
> 
> TTE (Bethany) :)


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